Bewitched and Bewildered
by SpicyRamenGirl
Summary: Soul and Maka go on a mission to kill a witch named Samhain in a small town.They find a girl completely unaware of what she is.She invokes feelings in Soul he never knew about and he has to question if it's her uncontrolled magic doing it-or Sam herself.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

Bewitched and Bewildered

Okay, so this is a SoulxOC romance story. If you don't like it then you shouldn't have clicked on it. Please forgive me in advance for any spelling mistakes. Everything will most likely be written when I'm half asleep near midnight. Anyway, this is about a mission that Soul and Maka go on that change everything. Soul, DWMA, the way witches are seen, and even the world. Soul and Maka are taking a mission to kill a witch in a small town in the middle of Ontario. They expect to find everything in mayhem with an evil nut job killing people. What they _do_ find is a normal teenage girl who has no idea of what she is. What will happen to this seemingly normal girl when Death himself doesn't know what to do?

I don't own Soul Eater. I only own the plot and idea for this story.

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Chapter 1

Prologue

* * *

Everything was quiet on the empty roads that wound through the forest. Well, except for the orange motorcycle that blurred as it sped by. The two people on the motorcycle weren't in any particular hurry; that was just the way that Soul drove. He thought it was "uncool to listen to speed limits." His meister, Maka, just held on for dear life. She wasn't stupid enough to Maka Chop him while on the twisty roads going at a hundred miles per hour. Having been partners with him for two years now, she was used to his dangerous if careless behaviour and knew enough to just shut up and hold on when she couldn't nag him into doing things her way.

The reason that these two were speeding down a deserted road in the middle of nowhere to a town that didn't even show up on Google was that a mission had been put up to kill a witch in a small town Soul had immediately dubbed "Hicksville." Apparently, the witch had escaped detection for fifteen years and had made her residence there. Not even Chrona, who had heard about all the witches Medusa had know, if only so that she could take them out later, didn't know that a witch was so far from them yet so close. Given the circumstances, Shinigama-sama had thought that Soul and Maka were perfect for the job as they faced down the kishin.

With praise like that, Maka couldn't resist.

The moment that they had got the mission she had started devising plans on how to collect the witches' soul in the least amount of time possible, packing up all her clothes and a couple books as she muttered to herself in her room. Soul had just slouched over to the couch, grabbed the open bag of chips on the coffee table, and started watching T.V. All he had to do was throw a few pair of jeans and T-shirts into a bag and he was done. Transportation, accommodations, and everything else was taken care of by Shinigama-sama already.

They left that very day and arrived a little past five in the morning.

Soul was in a bad mood, which only made him go faster as he skidded around a corner, barely missing colliding with a lone car that honked its outrage at him. He didn't pay any attention, even when Maka started yapping in his ear. He was too lost in his thoughts.

_Damn plane. That seat made a kink in my neck. It's so uncool to get stuck sitting beside the kid and the old person. _His inner monologue just got angrier the longer he thought about the mission so far. _And what's with the four hour drive just to get to Hicksville? Isn't there an airport anywhere closer to it? Like maybe Ottawa? Why the hell would a witch want to live in this crappy place? _

The sudden transition from forest to town caught Soul off guard and he barely avoided hitting a car backing out of a driveway. The driver honked indignantly, yelling curses about "stupid kids" as Soul swerved along the road, trying to gain control of the motorcycle before he drove off the road. Cars seemed to appear out of nowhere and he swore as he scraped along the side of an obviously remodelled car. The driver gave him the finger and just continued driving. The impact with the car did nothing to help his situation and he played froggy with the cars as Soul desperately tried to find a way to escape. Then he saw it. A school parking lot. He swerved in front of a jeep and just made it, with Maka screaming as she clutched at him for dear life. As soon as he was off the road he cut the engine and slowed to a crawl.

He had barely gotten off the motorcycle before Maka started to harp at him, her fists banging away at his head as he walked the motorcycle to a parking space. "What the hell were you trying to do, baka? Running in front of those cars like an idiot! Next time pay more attention to the road or you're going to get us killed!"

"Ya, Maka, I get it, will you shut up now?" Soul said dryly, turning his back to his meister to survey their surroundings. He had barely gotten a glimpse of a three story building when he heard a soft, "Makaaa…CHOP!"

A book came down on his head and his head bobbed before he crumpled to the ground, a huge book-shaped dent in his skull.

"What you do that for?" He groaned, picking himself up from the pavement. He leaned on his bike for extra support as he glared at his suddenly innocent looking partner.

"Oh!" Maka exclaimed and Soul automatically tensed for a fight. "We're at the address that Lord Death gave us. This is where the witch is." Soul gave an exasperated sigh but obediently followed after Maka after he parked his beloved motorcycle for a quick getaway in case this mission ended like the one where they first met Chrona. He unconsciously placed a hand over the long scar that ran horizontally across his chest; some days he'd wake up to the scar burning and tugging at his flesh. Because of that scar he had Little Ogre to deal with._ But I'd do it again_, he thought, watching Maka's blond pigtails sway as she walked purposely towards the doors. His ruby red eyes turned soft for a moment at her serious behaviour. It was just like her to have a hissy one second then be all business the next. Shaking his silver hair out his eyes casually he slouched after her, giving off what he liked to call his cool attitude. Maka just called it lazy.

They wandered the halls, Maka occasionally peeking into an open classroom door, shaking her pigtails when there was no sign of their witch. They got plenty of stares, not that either meister or weapon acknowledged them. Soul was too cool to act like he cared.

Third floor and they still hadn't found the witch. Maka was starting to get impatient, and that meant beatings over the head for Soul and sardonic remarks for Maka that made her face scrunch up in indignation.

Mid-sentence into an insult Soul felt…something. A wave length. And a strong one at that. He turned instinctively, leaving Maka to catch up to him as he rounded the corner in front of them and kicked in the door to a classroom.

Before the shouts of confusion could erupt he was already leaping over desks, knocking anybody who stood up back into their seats, his red gaze focused solely on the owner of the wavelength. Silver eyes clashed with ruby as he landed on her desk, effectively silencing the once boisterous classroom.

Soul's arm transformed in a flash of blue light and he pressed the blade to the side of her neck, showing a shark-toothed grin of victory that he already accomplished the mission and without even needing Maka.

"I'm here to take your soul, witch-lady," he announced airily as he pressed the blade hard enough against her skin to draw blood. The girl paled visibly but rebellion sparkled in her silver eyes as she shouted in his face.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A WITCH?"


	2. Chapter 2 Mayhem and Magic Spells

Hello there! Me again. Just wanting to see if you read this far. If you have then I love you. Thank you so much. Plus, you're lucky, 'cause the best is yet to come.

I don't own Soul eater. I only own the story plot and idea.

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Chapter 2

Mayhem and Magic spells

_"I'm here to take your soul, witch-lady," he announced airily as he pressed the blade hard enough against her skin to draw blood. The girl paled visibly but rebellion sparkled in her silver eyes as she shouted in his face._

_"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A WITCH?"_

_

* * *

_

For one moment the classroom was entirely silent. That didn't last too long, though. Chaos broke out as the girls started screaming and the boys launched themselves at Soul. He deftly evaded their grabbing hands, turning his arms back to knock them so hard over the head that they were seeing stars. In all the chaos it went unnoticed that Maka had quietly slipped into the classroom and weaved her way between the desks to tug on Soul's jacket. He glanced back at her and a silent communication flowed between them. In a flash of blue light he transformed into a scythe and arched through the air, twirling like a bladed baton in Maka's hands. She slung the handle over her shoulder and stared down at the witch with a cold expression in her moss green eyes.

"We'll be taking your soul now, witch," she proclaimed in her scythe master voice. The blue light surrounding Soul's blade disappeared to reveal the black and red zigzag pattern. The witch stared at it in awe before her face contorted in fear and confusion as her eyes connected with Maka's.

"I already told you," she growled between clenched teeth, "who the hell are ya calling a witch!"

Maka was taken aback; usually they'd already be fighting but this witch wasn't even getting out of her desk. Not only that, but she was dressed like a normal person. No tight black or revealing clothing, just a plain T-shirt and jeans. If it weren't for her striking silver eyes and dark blue hair she would seem entirely normal.

At that very moment those silver eyes were glaring at Maka like she was the bane of evil. It took Maka a moment to realize she had been asked a question, which she had no clue how to answer. But apparently Soul did.

"Look, can we hurry up and eat her damn soul already?" he raged at Maka, the one eye on his scythe glaring at her. She stuck up her nose but none the less obliged, slashing quickly with her blade at the witch. The blade passed harmlessly through the air and Maka and Soul's eyes widened.

As meister and partner had been striking a cool pose for the witch, she had been leaning ever closer to the edge of her seat, and as she saw the talking blade—which really creeped her out, almost as much as somebody _wanting_ to eat her soul—getting ready to slice her in half she had thrown herself out of her seat and crashed to the floor with an "Umph". Pain flared through her stomach at the belly flop but she ignored it as she scrambled to her feet and took off for the door.

She didn't make it very far.

Soul barked a warning to Maka that she was escaping and immediately the girl leapt over a desk, landing right in the path of the witch. She came to a skidding halt and tripped over her own feet trying to back up. The next few seconds that occurred seemed to move in slow motion. The witch extended her hand to them, a look of startled fear in her eyes as her mouth parted in a scream, her eyes begging for help. And Soul was the one to give it. His body moved without consent as he transformed back to human and grabbed her hand, yanking her back to her feet and holding her tight against him. He stared into the wide silver eyes, the eyes so close to his, and he felt something different than a simple soul wavelength. He felt _her_.

* * *

Samhain had started her day like she normally would; cursing the morning for making her wake up at such an unholy hour. After once again scrutinizing her odd blue hair she just sighed and left it down. _How the hell does someone _naturally_ have blue hair? Maybe I can dye it brown…_ She puttered about her room for fifteen minutes, occasionally bouncing around to a song playing from the stereo, throwing anything that she needed into her backpack _before_ she forgot it. Tramping down the stairs she greeted her mom with a smile please-pity-me-and-let-me-stay-home smile. As it always did, it didn't work.

"Cereal is on the counter." Her mom said, moving around the small kitchen to do her own thing. Samhain heaved a sigh and drowned her Froot Loops in milk. She stabbed a spoon into the mushy mess she called a breakfast and took it into the T.V room, ready to turn her brain into a gooey mess similar to her breakfast.

An hour later she was seated in class, randomly doodling in her binder as her geography teach droned on and on about population pyramids. She had already done the homework out of boredom over the weekend and she was still bored, except now she didn't have anything to do to amuse herself.

"Sam," her friend, Madison, whispered from beside her. "What did you get for number nine a?"

Sam looked up, startled, and quickly flipped the pages in her binder to the work. "Um…I got…that the population will decrease dramatically as the dependant load goes up with the baby boom people turning old."

Madison nodded as she scribbled down the borrowed answer in her book and Sam went back to doodling eyes in the back of her binder. Suddenly, the door to the classroom was kicked in. Sam jumped in her seat at the crash and gawked at the door that was now acting as a welcome mat. A flash of silver and yellow caught her eye and before she could gasp she found cold metal against her neck. Red eyes captured her as she looked into the face of the owner of the blade and she felt a tug at her chest. Then he had to go and open up his damn mouth.

"I'm here to take your soul, witch-lady," proclaimed, a smirk pulling his mouth into a shark-toothed grin. Oddly enough, Sam found it rather hot—in a weird, freak-me-out sort of way. Pain raced across her skin as he drew blood but she ignored it, along with the unwelcome teenage hormones and fear that threatened to overrule her as she focused solely on the anger his statement sparked.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A WITCH?"

The boy holding a blade to her neck faltered momentarily and she read confusion it his ruby eyes. That only lasted until one of the guys from her class decided to attack the stranger.

The blade left her neck but only so that it could sweep towards the head of the first boy trying to take him out and a scream bubbled in her throat, picturing her classmate being split down the middle. To her amazement the blade transformed into a normal arm in a flash of blue light and instead of slicing up her classmate he was simply whacked over the head hard enough to knock him out. In quick success, all the attacking boys were taken out, crumpling around her desk like plucked flowers. When it was done the boy looked back at her and he finally saw her clearly; silver hair spiked up and slightly to the left, held back by a headband with buttons adorning it, one consisting of a picture of bared lips with pointed teeth and the word EAT around the bottom. The other thing on the headband was the word SOUL written in big, black, bloke letters. His posture was horrible, but since when had Sam ever cared about good posture? He wore a yellow and black letterman jacket and dark red skinny jeans. He glared at her through half-lidded ruby eyes and instinctively she glared back. It was then that she saw the girl over his shoulder.

At the same moment he noticed her and he looked into the girl's moss coloured eyes. Something unspoken went between them and then Sam was blinded by a flash of light. When she could see again she was left gawking at a girl dressed in a school girl uniform, holding a giant scythe across her shoulders. She glowered at Sam and Sam stared angrily right back.

"We'll be taking your soul now, witch," the school girl said in a voice that was meant to sound authoritive. Her blond pigtails ruined the effect but Sam gave her points for show as the blade of the scythe, which had still been glowing with that blue light, was suddenly revealed in all its red and black zigzag glory.

For a moment Sam just stared. _That-he…wasn't he a _boy_ a second ago? Now he's… _She wouldn't allow herself to dwell on things too crazy to make sense. Instead, she latched onto the anger that the girls words invoked. "I already told you," she growled between her teeth, "who the hell are ya calling a witch!"

"Look, can we hurry up and eat her damn soul already?" The question came from the scythe as it rolled the single eye it had to glare at the school girl. The words sent a chill down Sam's spine and she decided right then and there to do anything to get out alive. Careful not to draw attention, she leaned towards the floor in her seat and the moment that she saw that blade start its course she flopped to the ground. Momentary pain ran up her stomach at the belly flop but she pushed it aside for later care, rushing to her feet awkwardly and making a break for the door, trying hard to get to the door to escape the scythe-guy and school girl behind her.

She barely got three steps before they were before her.

She came up short, tripping herself on her own feet, and the world tilted sideways to her. A scream clawed its way up her throat, her arm reaching out blindly, her brain shutting down and bracing herself for more pain when she cracked her head against the floor.

The pain never came. Instead, she found herself encompassed in warmth, trapped in an embrace. There was a difference between a hug and an embrace, she found. A hug is well meant, just to show that you appreciate the person, a welcome in most cases. An embrace is for comfort, for safety, for love. This embrace made her insides turn to goo and her body melt into the arms of that held her. She looked up and was instantly lost in ruby eyes so deep that she got lost. For a single moment, just a moment, it was like she could feel _him_.

* * *

Soul couldn't believe it. He had saved her. He had saved the witch that a second ago he was prepared to kill and eat her soul for a late breakfast. But gazing into her silver eyes, wide with fading fear and newfound adrenalin, he knew he would do it again. He didn't know why; he chalked it up to it being uncool to eat the soul of somebody that was killed by tripping over herself. He didn't even want to think about the feelings she gave him. The feeling of being warm and cared for, of being whole. Not having to ever hide who he is, not having to be afraid of her finding out about Little Ogre and the black blood in him. He had even hidden it from Maka, until he couldn't hide it anymore. But this witch made him want to confess everything to her, from the black blood to the time he got his arm stuck in a tree when he was trying to show Wes that he could transform his arms. Her navy blue hair wasn't weird to him anymore. he found it oddly cute.

_No! Not cute! Cool guys don't say cute! Even if her hair colour is pretty…THAT'S EVEN WORSE THAN CUTE! _He shook his head to dispel the thoughts that crowded his brain and found that some of her hair brushed against his face as he did it. That was how close they were. One little move and their lips would…Soul abruptly started imagining Stein doing a dissection to get rid of his "uncool" thoughts.

Meanwhile, Sam was having the same predicament. _He smells so good…I wonder if it's cologne. No, you don't care about any of that, boys are morons, they are not worth the trouble they are, and will just end up being deadbeats. But I can still smell him while he's this close…ARGH! Curse you, teenage girl hormones! _Both of them were starting to blush, which didn't go unnoticed by Maka, who was waiting for her weapon to reach a hand out for her to take so they could kill the witch.

_Why isn't he killing her? It's just like we did with Blaire that one time; all he has to do is reach towards me, transform into a scythe, and we can get her soul, so why is he still hugging her?_

Both of the two people embracing came to their senses at the same time. Soul leapt away and S Sam dropped onto the ground.

"Yeoowwww!" she howled in pain, rubbing her sore tailbone, clenching her teeth against the pain. Annoyance flared in her that he would just drop her but a little part of her mind whispered that he could have easily killed her with the way he had been holding her. She trampled down the gratitude that he had deliberately stepped away so he wouldn't kill her and wouldn't even allow the reasons why he might have let her live enter her head. She just wanted to get away from the crazy people alive and have nothing to do with them ever again. At least, that's what she told herself.

Soul was internally beating himself up for just dropping her. _Idiot! You could have gotten her soul! All you had to do was the same thing as you did with Blaire. But what do you do…you just let her go. What the hell is wrong with me? This is so uncool. _Tension hung heavy in the air between Sam and Soul, so heavy that they found it hard to breathe. It was like each intake of oxygen was an effort and Sam felt like she had electricity running through her veins.

It was at that moment that all the windows in the school exploded into dust and the screaming started all over again.


	3. Chapter 3 Confusion and Kidnappings

Hello, readers! I'm up to the third chapter now. Hope you stayed long enough to read this. Anyway, I don't own Soul Eater, only the plot and story ideas. See ya!

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Chapter 3

Confusion and Kidnappings

_It was at that moment that all the windows in the school exploded into dust and the screaming started all over again._

Sam yelped in surprise and instinctively curled in on herself to protect her body from any shattering glass. But instead of broken fragments every single window had been completely obliterated to the size of grains of sand. After the screaming ended questions flew around the room, the struggle between the strangers and Sam forgotten in the confusion. Sam hauled herself to her feet and numbly walked over to the windows with the rest of their class. It was like watching a car crash; everything happens so fast and when it's done you don't know what's going on, then the freaking out starts. Everyone (except for the guys who were still unconscious) gazed at the empty window sill with fascination, then leaned forward to watch the glass dust sparkle in the courtyard three stories below. It was at that exact moment that Soul and Maka snapped out of the daze they had been in and realized that they were just standing there when the witch was helpless.

Sam felt a jerk at her throat and a scream rose from her lungs before she heard Soul whisper in her ear, "Make a sound and I'll kill you right here."

She shut up and let herself be led out of the classroom, pleading with fear-filled eyes to her classmates' backs as they gaped at the empty window, completely oblivious to her plight. Every door they passed, the students inside ignored them, choosing instead to stare intently at the lack of windows. Sam felt herself become more afraid of the two strangers as they towed her outside her school, walking right under the very place that her friends were watching as if hypnotized, but she heard nothing from the school. No shouts of distress, no warnings, not even a startled yelp. Absolutely nothing.

Soul was as intrigued by the lack of response from the students as she was. He had expected at least a teacher to step out of a classroom and ask why they were leaving. They had even walked right in view of her classroom, for God's sake! Shouldn't someone have noticed? _It's like everyone is blind to us, _he wondered quietly. They weaved between the cars in the parking lot until they stopped close to the woods beside the school. Roughly Soul pushed Sam at Maka and trudged through the long grass and ducking under branches, muttering about how uncool it was to have to hide a bike as cool as his.

Sam's head was spinning. The people holding her-kidnapping her!-were muttering stuff about being "cool" under their breath! She was being kidnapped by people who could turn into freaking weapons of decapitation! This was not normal! Exploding windows, scythe people, kidnapping…none of this was supposed to happen to her! It didn't fit into the normal day that she was supposed to have. _Maybe I'm still asleep_, that stupid hopeful voice in her head whispered in vain. _It wouldn't be the first time weird things happened in my dreams. Yeah, that has to be it. I'm still dreaming, and as soon as my mom wakes me up, my normal—and boring—day can begin._ By the time that soul returned out of the trees with his bike, whining about all the "damn grass" and "stupid trees" Sam had almost convinced herself that none of it was real. So she did the incredibly moronic thing and decided to go along for the ride. If it was a dream, then she would be fine, right?

Because of her delusions she did nothing as she was tied up with a chain conveniently stashed in the pockets of Maka's trench coat and sandwiched between Soul and Maka on the squashed seat of Soul's motorcycle. One thing that all the people on the motorcycle could agree on was that three people should never be smushed onto one seat. Soul started the bike and it purred as turned onto the highway, taking Sam farther from her school. She found she actually enjoyed the ride; aside from the chains and squishiness. The warm spring breeze whipped her blue hair behind her, tangling the straightened strands, causing them to revert back to their original curliness even as they knotted. Her silver eyes sparkled with wind-induced tears and the wind made her face feel cold and hot at the same time. _Like sticking your head out of a moving car_, she thought with a bit of glee. If this was a dream than she never wanted this part to end. It never occurred to her to watch where they were taking her; if it was a dream then it wouldn't matter in the end, she'd just wake up anyway.

Finally they stopped, after an hour on the road, and Sam was dragged into a small inn room that was obviously where they were staying. It had books stacked on one side of the room and the other had next to nothing, just one duffel bag dumped on one of the twin beds. Maka unchained Sam long enough to force her into a chair and bind her again, then just settled onto her bed with a book thicker than her head. Soul just took out an iPod, collapsed on his bed, and started listening to music. Sam stared, confused. Was that it? They kidnap her and then do _nothing_? _This is so anti-climactic_, she thought in boredom.

"Hey," she said hesitantly, drawing the attention of Maka, "what are you doing?"

Maka raised a brow in confusion. _What does she mean by that…is she planning something? Will she use her magic against us when I answer? _Despite her suspicion, Maka answered her anyway, just out of curiosity. "I'm reading a composition of American classics," she replied, showing Sam the cover. Sure enough, in brilliant gold lettering on the dull brown cover, were the words _Classics of American Literature_. "Some are really good, while others lack in voice."

"Not only that but they're about as cool as you," Soul piped up. Maka shot him a glare.

"I thought you were listening to music?" she barked at him. Soul merely shrugged and kept his eyes closed as if he didn't even care. Maka huffed and went back to explaining all the stories to Sam, neither girl noticing that Soul had turned the volume on his iPod down to hear better.

"Do you read?" Maka questioned Sam with genuine interest. It was rare that she got to talk literature with anyone. Most of the people she was friends with didn't care about authors. In fact, Maka would be surprised if she found one of her friends in the library at Shibusen for any reason other than looking stuff up about some enemy they had. This was one of the only times that she was able to talk books with somebody, other than the woman who worked at her favourite book store, who had recently started asking about how her dad was doing. Suffice to say, that made Maka turn away from the woman rather quickly.

"God yes!" Sam exclaimed. "I love the newer teen fiction novels, but one of the classics between books is good. The first time I read Shakespeare I had a hard time understanding all that old timey crap but after a couple of times reading the play I got used to it. Any sort of romance or horror is good for me. Especially Darren Shan! He has one of the goriest series I've ever read but to have that gore he sacrifices voice. That's his downside because the Cirque de Freak series he has is filled with voice." She sighed dramatically as if it was a tragedy.

Maka found her confusion in the witch growing. Usually all the witches she encountered were either snivelling idiots or crazy psychopaths; cough, Medusa, cough. But this one seemed almost…normal. Aside from the exploding windows she hadn't used any magic and that wasn't even against them. Not only that, but she seemed genuinely enthusiastic about books. Sure, witches could have hobbies. Hell, Medusa had been working at DWMA before they found out she was a witch! But not many of them could converse with her about their hobbies while chained to a chair after being kidnapped, though Maka didn't want to think of it as kidnapping. The point was that this witch didn't seem like any witch she'd ever heard of before.

Soul, while Maka was conversing with Sam, was having doubts about the witch as well. _What the hell kinda witch reads? Shouldn't she be talking about taking souls or killing people? And who the hell is Darren Shan? _The more he heard the more intrigued he was, though he'd never admit it. Eavesdropping isn't cool, after all. By this time he'd just paused the song altogether and was focused solely on his meister and the witch. He was still prepared to transform into a scythe should the witch attempt anything but for the most part he was relaxed, content to listen in without them knowing. Despite what everyone might think about Soul he did have some deep moments. He didn't only think about being cool. In fact, he noticed when his friends were feeling down or happy and more often than not thought about their lives. He still regretted infecting Maka by accident with the black blood and had given her more attention than the others, noticing that although she joked and had fun, she didn't really talk to anyone outside their group, not since that lady at the bookstore started to like her dad. He noticed the happiness in Maka's voice, the light that lit her eyes as she traded book titles with Sam. He had to admit that he was never one for books and he knew she was fine with that; she didn't know anything about music and he was okay with that. But he had Liz to talk to about jazz. Maka didn't have anyone.

The door to the room was suddenly blasted in and everyone jumped. Sam screamed as she toppled over and Soul immediately turned to a scythe, spinning into Maka's hands. She took her stance, her green eyes hard and serious. That was, until a blubbering red-haired guy sprinted into the room.

"Makaaaaa!" he cried as he tried to wrap his arms around the girl. She neatly side-stepped him, Soul turning back to human form to frown in boredom at the weeping man. The fact that Maka had avoided him didn't stop the grown man from whining like a toddler. "Maka, papa was so worried about you! Lord Death told me about your mission and I had to make sure that your papa was here to save you! Now, where's the witch?"

Soul sneered at Spirit and lazily said, "We don't need your help. Maka and I have already captured the witch."

Spirit glared at soul. "Listen here, you little octopus head, I am Maka's father and as such she will always need my help." His glared suddenly transformed into a smile as he gazed at Maka. "Maka, you know I love you."

"Humph," she snorted, avoiding eye contact. "Stop wasting your time, I'll never consider you my father."

Spirit looked like he'd been struck by lightning and huddled in a corner, blubbering Maka's name over and over. But just as suddenly as he became depressed he was back on his feet and inspecting Sam. "How are you, pretty girl? Need some help up?" he asked, winking at her.

Sam, Maka, and Soul were all simultaneously disgusted. At one time they all yelled out insults at him.

"PEDOPHILE!"

"OLD PERVERT!"

"CHEATING SCUM!"

Spirit was practically blown back from the malice in their voices. He looked from his daughter, to the girl tied up, to Soul, all wearing identical masks of rage. He really didn't understand. He was always like this and never had he been yelled at by three people at the same time. Sure, the girl tied up was a little younger than his usual—make that a lot!—but she was still pretty. The fact that she was more, ah, gifted than most girls her age might have influenced his taste. He did expect Maka to grumble a little but he couldn't help himself.

Looking at the girl he had just been flirting with, he flinched involuntarily. Her silver eyes were squinted at him as if with enough concentration she could make him spontaneously combust. Her body language, though confined by the chains, clearly said in screaming words _GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME_. Her teeth were bared like a dog and if he listened enough he could probably hear the subtle growl in the back of her throat. Even chained to a chair she looked scary as hell.

Soul stepped forward and hauled her back up until she wasn't on her back anymore. once she was more comfortable—as comfortable as she could get chained to a chair—he made no move to back away again. If anything, he just moved closer to her side, half hiding her from spirit. This didn't go unnoticed by the death scythe of his daughter.

Soul, for his part, had no idea what he was doing. Usually he would just dryly mock Spirit when he was flirting with a woman. But hearing that old perv come onto Sam…something had snapped in him. Even now, he couldn't stand the way that Spirit was looking at her, and had put himself between his meister's dad and her. He chalked it up to it being the cool thing to do.

Sam was shocked at his gallantry. An hour ago he had been threatening to kill her and now he was defending her from a perverted pedophile. Usually, she was the one defending herself; she had found out that if you hurt someone enough emotionally and physically they would stop liking you. But, seeing as how she was tied up, she had been fully prepared with a rant the likes he had never heard before to compensate for her predicament. Then Soul had stepped up and helped her, not even backing down afterward like she had expected. Actually, she never expected to even be helped up. They did kidnap her, after all. Looking at Soul's back to her she abruptly realized how he was practically a girl's bad boy fantasy, what with his messy yet cool hair, the leather jacket, motorcycle, and an I-don't-care-about-anything attitude that should have been snobby but was actually quite endearing. Unbeknownst to Sam, her cheeks had started to redden, until it looked as if all the blood in her body had suddenly relocated to her head.

"We didn't need your help," Maka told her father, her nose upturned, "we captured the witch ourselves without any difficulty." If Maka noticed how both Soul and Sam jumped at her voice she didn't show it.

Spirit's gaze was once again drawn to his daughter. He went over her words in his head and made a mental leap that sent him reeling "So that girl is the witch?" At Maka's nod Spirit sprouted long, curving grey and black blades from his back and arms. "Don't worry, Maka, papa will protect you."

Before Spirit could even take a step towards Sam he was met with a Maka Chop. Maka just stood over his slumped and bleeding form, silently enjoying that he had finally shut up. Soul quietly walked up beside her and stuffed his hands in his pockets, slouching over as he watched Spirit bleed out a little geyser of blood from the dent in his skull.

"Your dad is an idiot," he commented.

Maka glared down at the prone form that everyone insisted on calling her dad. "That weak man isn't my father," she pronounced with venom. The two stood over his unconscious body for a few more moments in silence before Sam distracted them.

"So…since you weirdos kidnapped me and all, I think we should really introduce ourselves. At least, before any other freaky stuff happens." The three locked eyes with each other and Maka sighed.

"I guess we should go first…"


	4. Chapter 4 Perverts and Pretty Girls

Hey! I would just like to thank my first reviewer and all the people who added my story as a favourite, or put me on story alert. Special thanks to Allie X 'I for adding me to your favourite author list! Thanks to Aku12 , everfrozen , Crona Katartist, I got mugged by a penguin, alicelouise'x, and The Iblis Trigger for being so kind to me. You made my week. Hell, you made my month! So, this chapter is for all of you!

I don't own soul Eater. I only own the story idea and plot.

Buh bye!

* * *

Chapter 4

Perverts and Pretty Girls

"_So…since you weirdos kidnapped me and all, I think we should really introduce ourselves. At least, before any other freaky stuff happens." The three locked eyes with each other and Maka sighed._

"_I guess we should go first…" _

* * *

"My name is Maka Albarn and this is Soul," she said, pointing to the shark-toothed guy beside her. Sam and Soul's eyes locked for a mille-second before he glanced away lazily.

"Got a last name, Soul?" Sam questioned, only half sarcastic. She was actually curious about the white-haired boy, despite all he'd done to her within the last hour.

"Evans," he murmured in a voice almost too low to hear. Maka looked at him in confusion. _He never uses __his last name…_ she thought. Even now, if he was forced to give a last name it would usually be Eater, as he liked to call himself. Still bitter about his family, Maka often assumed. For him to give her his real name was something akin to letting her into the Black Room. Maka had only been allowed inside because Little Ogre had let her in without Soul's knowledge. Not that he didn't object to her being there. There were parts of his soul that he didn't even want his partner to see. Letting someone know his real name was major.

"Evans…" Sam tested the name on her tongue. She decided she liked it. "Well, my name's Sam Crawford. Nice to meet ya." She jerked her arm but was restrained by the chains. "I'd shake your hands but as you can see, I'm a little tied up." She paused for dramatic irony, waiting for a laugh, but they just gave her an are-you-serious look. "Okay, I admit, that sucked, but give me credit. How often do you get the opportunity to say that joke?"

"Actually, we're in that situation a lot," offered Maka helpfully. That took a second for Sam to digest.

"In a perverted sorta way?" Sam really hoped that they weren't perverts. If she was kidnapped by perverts, even in a dream, bad things would ensue. She really didn't want to have that kind of nightmare.

"NO!" they both roared the word at her and she flinched away.

"Alright, alright, I believe you, just shut up already! You're hurting my ears…"

They lapsed into silence, none of them knowing exactly what to say next. Sam took the role as leader again and asked, "What is all this rambling about a witch, anyway? Witches are supposed to only be in horror stories and fairy tales. They're as real as Santa Claus and the boogie man."

Soul turned away from her, a half grin on his face. He loved bursting people's bubbles about their happy-go-lucky world. "Yeah, well the big red fat man might not be real but witches sure are. Not too sure about the boogie man but he could be just sleeping under some kid's bed."

"Soul's right," Maka chirped. "You're actually a witch and you exist."

"Um…" Not too sure how to word what she was going to say next, Sam decided to just go with bluntness. "One; you people are nut jobs, two; witches aren't real. I could've sworn I just said that but maybe I was talking to myself." Her words dripped with snarkiness and meister and weapon found themselves even more bewildered. She had absolutely no clue about witches. She didn't even know she was one. This mission just got weirder and weirder.

"Let's report to Lord Death." Maka skipped over to the mirror and breathed on it until it fogged before writing in the number, whispering the rhyme as she did. "Fourty-two, fourty-two, five sixty-four, whenever you want to knock on Death's door." The mirror rippled and the reflection of Maka was replaced with a large, white masked spring covered in black cloth.

"Meister Maka reporting," she smiled at the masked spring. Sam, watching in the background, could only stare in a way that made it clear she thought that she was abducted by loonies. Luckily, Maka was facing Lord Death or else Sam would have found a book wedged in her skull.

"Hello, Maka, how are you? How is the mission? Did you retrieve the witch's soul?"

"Um…" Maka stuttered nervously, "that's kinda why I called. See, we've captured the witch—"

"Not a witch!" Sam interrupted from the chair out of range of the mirror.

"—and she doesn't know that she is a witch."

"I already told you, I'm not a witch! Jeez, are you people deaf or just stupid?"

"Will you shut up already?" Soul's shout could be heard in the background.

"Never! You can't ma—uumph. Mey, git dis ting oup o ie mouf!"

"What was that?"

"Arrrrrrrrrrr!"

Maka and Lord Death both sweat dropped at the sounds in the background. "Was that the witch?" Lord Death asked, tilting his head to the side. Maka nodded wordlessly, too busy watching her weapon and Sam bicker to speak. Soul was smiling sardonically, his hands in his pockets, while Sam rocked her chair back and forth in anger. Her eyes were squinted and she had a tube of socks stuck in her mouth. It looked like she was trying to spit it out but couldn't. Her wild blue hair and the way she was chained made it all the funnier and Maka couldn't help but giggle. This drew Sam's attention and the death glare that had previously been focused on Soul as if she could make him spontaneously combust switched to Maka.

"Or gwing dow toe!" she threatened but the gibberish lessened the severity of it. Instead of making Maka and Soul quake in fear they merely started laughing full out, bust-a-gut, about-to-topple-over-while-not-breathing laughter.

Now Lord Death was even more confused. Maka usually had the utmost seriousness for her missions in her dedication to make Soul into a death scythe but here she was, laughing as casually as back at Shibusen. And at a witch no less.

"You mean to say that you haven't killed the witch yet?" Lord Death tried to bring the attention back to the matter at hand.

Maka glanced at him like she had forgotten he was there.

"Oh, sorry, what was that?"

"Have you not retrieved the witch's soul yet?"

"Um…" Maka had enough sense to blush in embarrassment. "Well…it's not that simple. Sam has no clue that she's a witch."

"Sam?" Lord Death cocked his head to the side. He only knew that the witch's name was Samhain, like Halloween. There was nothing about what she preferred to be called. Then the rest of what she said sunk in.

"She's unaware she's a witch? Hmm, that is interesting. Perhaps you should bring her here for interrogation. So, we'll see you tomorrow." And with that the mirror rippled again and the window to the Death Room was gone.

Maka turned back to the still bickering couple with a bounce. "We need to catch a plane. Soul, buy us the tickets for the earliest leaving flight while I pack up."

"Wat fi?" Sam mumbled around the sock.

"Lord Death wants to see you tomorrow and since we're so far away we have to leave immediately," Maka said while flitting around the room and gathering her stuff.

It was at that moment that Sam finally spit out the sock. "WHAT!"

"We're kidnapping you," Soul snapped.

The word rang in Sam's head. _Kidnap, kidnap, kidnap…_ Her head started to shake and her body went numb.

"No. No, you're not allowed to do that. That's not how it's supposed to go. I'm supposed to wake up and find out that I still have to do my French homework. _Nobody_ can tell me what to do or where I'm going in my dream. And since this is _my dream reality_ than I call the shots and first thing I rule is that THESE CHAINS GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

The chains disintegrated with a poof and turned to dust like the windows. Sam sat up and rolled her shoulders, not at all surprised that her rant actually worked. She was the only one.

"Jeez, my muscles are so sore," she huffed, stretching her arms above her head. "Chains; not so comfortable."

When she was met with silence she looked questionably at Maka and Soul. They were staring with their mouths gaping open in disbelief.

"What?" She questioned. "If this is my dream then I can do what I wanna do. Chains can't restrain me in dreams."

_So this is her power_, Maka thought. _She can control atoms. If she ever gained control over it completely…she could do anything…create anything…destroy everything. _The prospect was too horrible to even imagine. _She's too dangerous to let live_, Maka realized. It was at that moment that Maka swore that after Lord Death gave her a once over she would make sure that Sam never would be able to reach her full potential.

Sam was blissfully unaware that the girl she had been having a conversation with like they were buddy-buddy just moments before was plotting her death. She was busy thinking up anything else that she wants to happen in the dream. _I would like something better to wear if we're going anywhere where people can see me. _With that thought her clothes were changed with a little poof into something else.

Soul had a nosebleed on the sight.

A tight red and white striped tank top that went just below the belly button clung to her chest, the neckline low enough to show cleavage that Blair would approve of. She had on teeny-tiny red short shorts with suspenders hanging loosely from it. Thigh high white stockings were stretched almost to the bottom of her shorts. The only things unchanged about her were the converse on her feet. She glanced down at herself and gave off a smile like a child on Christmas. Sam twirled round on her tip-toes in a ballerina style before ending it with a huge stomping jump. She looked like a dancing candy cane on drugs.

"This is awesome!" Sam cried out in excitement. She waved her hands over her head, jumping up and down like a manic energizer bunny. Maka stared in an are-you-insane way at the overjoyed witch. Then she noticed Soul's…er, predicament, and her are-you-insane look turned to one of rage. Just as Soul was trying to sit up again Maka's foot connected with his face and he went rolling head over heels to land against his bed. Sam gasped and went to run to his side but was frozen when Maka's glare was directed at her. The phrase if looks could kill flashed through her head and as quickly as she started to run she dove and hid behind a stack of books not yet packed.

"Spare me," whimpered the books, a white flag being waved over them.

Maka ignored the books and started chewing Soul's ears off about how every man was a pervert and deserved to die, how stupid he was, a scumbag, moronic, stupid, perverted, idiot. After hearing this every single time Blair decided to press her chest against his face—and she did it very often—it had lost its edge. The violence and pain that accompanied it still hurt though. Three Maka Chops and two more kicks later Soul was barely recognizable as a human being let alone a person. Maka turned away from him with a huff and resolved to get going before anything else weird happens to make her angry. As soon as Maka turned away to get some more books and try and fit them into her bag Sam scuttled from her hiding place, dragged a beaten Soul over to safety; the small bathroom in the room.

She sighed and slid against the door in relief. For a moment she had thought that Maka was going to turn her into pudding just like Soul. Almost as if she had forgotten about him her head whipped around to check on the bloody and bruised demon scythe. He blearily opened his eyes and fixed the blood red orbs on her. Although the gesture was innocent Sam's face burst into a blush the rivalled Soul's eye colour. Quickly she hid her face behind her wildly curling hair to avoid any further embarrassment. Soul wasn't questioning her odd behaviour; she just saved him from dying by a pig-tailed bookworm. There was no way that he was going to be ungrateful to her because she could always just kick him out of her hiding place and leave him for dead.

It just occurred to both of them that they were in the tiny bathroom. Alone. Together. Sam blushed and shrunk in on herself to try and be smaller while Soul did what he did best.

He had a nosebleed that threw him backwards.

"Soul!" shouted Sam, concern in her voice as she leaned over his prone form. Blood gushed from his nose and it looked as if he had been slammed into a wall. He was out cold. That didn't stop Sam from poking him in the arm. "Soul? Are you okay? Why are you bleeding? Soul! Wake up, you lazy bum! Tell me why you're bleeding so I can help you or so help me I'll whack you so hard over the head it'll fall off!"

The only response she got was a gurgling sound that was like a dog trying to gargle a milkshake. She leaned away with a sigh and hugged her knees to her chest, pouting. Her dream was just starting to get better and now here he was, asleep on her. She couldn't help but be disappointed. He was supposed to be doing something exciting, not just lying there like an idiot. And she still had no clue why he had a spontaneous nosebleed. When blood spurted from his nose she had shrieked and scrambled away from him to avoid being bled on. The smell made her nauseous but to see if he was okay she had moved closer, the smell almost making her puke, concern for him the only thing keeping her near. It was still that concern that kept her from bolting out of the bathroom and leaving him there—there was also an angry Maka on the other side of the door that kept her there. But Sam knew that pretty soon the smell would get to her and she'd either have to drop and run or pass out.

Sam had always hated blood. The smell, the sight, it made her sick to her stomach. Needles made her scream and on numerous occasions she had keeled over at the sight of anything sharper than a butter knife. So having someone turn into a blade had freaked her out more than anything before. If it wasn't for her short temper than she would have gone into shock and eventually turned into a whimpering vegetable from fright. When she had felt her own blood on her skin it was only the appearance of Maka that had kept her from screaming in fear instead of anger. And now, she had trapped herself in a bathroom that was fermented with the smell of blood and blood itself and if she tried to escape _she'd_ be beaten to a bloody pulp. Sam finally understood the saying "trapped between a rock and a hard place."

* * *

The room was unusually quiet. Maka paused her packing and listened. She couldn't even hear Soul breathing. After that kinda beating he could still talk and usually told her how she didn't need to hit him so hard. She turned to see if he was okay; she wouldn't forgive herself if she had seriously hurt him. But the room was empty. Her eyebrows rose in confusion. _Where is he?_ She checked the stack of books Sam had been behind and found her missing too. _Where'd they go?_ She searched the room, going so far as to even search outside the room. _What the hell…?_ Then she heard it. The undeniable sound of one of Soul's monstrous nosebleeds. Maka turned sideways and stared at the bathroom door, her face blank. Then with one kick she knocked the door in.

Sam screamed and flattened herself against the wall, just avoiding having the door squish her. Soul wasn't so lucky. The bottom of the door had whacked him and he gave a grunt of pain while being knocked into the sink. It was like watching a rag doll being thrown around and would have been funny if he hadn't been in terrible pain. Sam gawked at it. _This just keeps getting weirder and weirder,_ she thought.

Maka looked down at Soul with the kind of expression she usually reserved for Soul when he was being assaulted by Blair. "Another nosebleed? What did you do this time, Soul? You probably planned this all so that you could jump her!" Maka accused, pointing her finger. Sam sweat dropped, thinking _she does realize that he can't hear her, right? _Maka continued her rant and after five minutes of listening to how much she hated men like him Sam snuck out again, leaving the room altogether. She heaved another sigh as she walked away from the small inn towards Soul's parked motorcycle. She just got bored of the same repetitive violence. If it was her dream, she was allowed to do whatever she wanted, right? And at that moment, she wanted to know what it was like to drive a motorcycle.

Sam slung her leg over the seat and stared at the handles for a couple seconds. She didn't know how to ride a motorcycle and was just starting to rethink her plan when Maka and Soul—finally having woken up by Maka's ranting in his ear—came stomping out of the room. They didn't look happy.

* * *

Maka had been giving Soul "the Speech" for five minutes straight before he had finally woken up from her irritating chattering. And upon waking up, he had noticed something missing. Or someone. It only took two words for Maka to shut up and get back on track.

"Where's Sam?"

Their eyes went wide as they saw the opened door of their room from the bathroom and as one they bolted towards it. Outside they found Sam straddling Soul's motorcycle and looking at it innocently, her hands barely touching the handle bars.

That was when Soul snapped.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? THAT'S _MINE!_ GET OFF IT YOU IDIOT BEFORE I EAT YOUR SOUL OR YOU BREAK MY MOTORCYCLE!"

Sam jumped at the sound, trying to scramble off the bike, but one of the knots on her converse caught on the footrest and she went down, the motorcycle landing on top of her, part of it clanging as it hit the pavement and dented.

Soul looked like he did when he discovered all his souls were confiscated.

Maka covered her ears and gazed in pity at the poor girl trapped anD unaware of what she had just done.

"NOOOOOOO!"

* * *

That is the end of chapter 4. Hope you at least tolerated it. If you hated it then you didn't have to read this far and you have no one to blame but yourself for reading this far in something you hate. If you actually loved this than OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW! Thank you thank you thank you! Just remember to review, kay? Buh bye!


	5. Chapter 5 Explanations & Encounters

Hey people! Fifth chapter finally up. Jeez, it took a while. Sorry I haven't updated in awhile but I've been busy writing my own original story. I'm up to chapter thirteen on that one but I keep getting writer's block before I can write more than a few paragraphs. plus my laptop has a horrible virus that won't let me do anything so that was gone for the weekend. Once again I'm sorry but between school work, my novel, and technical difficulties, I needed to take a while.

I don't own Soul Eater. the only thing I own is the plot idea and Sam. she is allll mine.

Bewitched and Bewildered

Chapter 5

Explanations and Encounters

_Maka covered her ears and gazed in pity at the poor girl trapped and unaware of what she had just done._

"_!"_

Soul threw a fit right there in the parking lot, one that toddlers would be proud of. Maka watched as he stomped over to Sam, his mouth hanging open as he shouted at her, hands waving frantically in the air. Of course, thanks to her quick reaction, Maka was spared listening to his hissy fit. Sam; not so lucky. With each word she got paler, her mouth dropped open, and she seemed to shrink even farther under the bike. Half-way through his hissy and the only parts of her visible was her disheartened face and her converse sticking out from the other side of the motorcycle. Maka smiled slightly—it wasn't everyday that someone could get the usually "cool" Soul to freak out. The few people who got that reaction out of him were her dad (not that she would call him her dad), Sid, Stein, anyone around when he was hungry, and Maka herself. Maka thought it was funny to watch _him_ do the ranting for a change.

Finally, she put a stop to it, after Sam started to get teary and whiny. She grabbed Soul's arm and jerked him away, momentarily cutting off his ramblings, and pushed the bike of Sam. She squeaked and tried to hide again but Maka just held the bike away from her. In desperation she hid behind Maka. She got an eye roll but Maka let her be, instead focusing on the still fuming Soul, who by this point was just swearing senselessly.

"H-hey, calm down, okay?" she said hesitantly. Soul just ignored her and started to curse at the sky. As if the sky gave a damn about his motorcycle. "Soul!" Maka said more sternly. And was ignored again. _He's getting on my nerves…_ She clenched her fist and was just about to whack him over the head when someone threw himself at her ankles.

"Makaaaa!" Spirit whined, clinging like a monkey to her leg. "Why? Why did you hurt your papa? And you—" he suddenly let go off Maka's leg to point at Soul, "—you let a witch get close to my Maka! I should—UGH!"

While talking Spirit hadn't noticed Maka's rising irritation or the way she had pulled back her leg slightly. The next thing he knew he was smashed into the wall of the building. He slipped down to the ground and whimpered, "Maka…"

She looked unpityingly at her dad and turned her head away with a, "Hmph!"

It went unnoticed by everyone that Sam had crawled away from them again. _Really, I can't stay another second around such crazy people. They say all this weird stuff about witches and kidnapping yet they don't even acknowledge me. I could probably sprout wings and turn purple and nobody would notice. _She was exhausted with all the stupidity of her dream and if crawling away would save her then she would crawl like a dog.

"Weirdos…total nut jobs…crazies…kinda cute—no! Not at all cute! Crazy, insane, manic weirdos!" she shook her head vehemently. "Ahh, head rush…" Slumping to the ground until the world stopped spinning, Sam tried to mull over her dream so far. Sure, it had started out like any of her normal days at school, something common in her dreams, but it had quickly gone into the realm of the crazy people, also not uncommon in her usual dreams. The only weird thing was that she was still dreaming. Her dreams seemed to last barely ten minutes to her yet this one was going on _forever. _It was kinda annoying her. And those weird people…way too weird to be actual figments of her imagination. Even imaginary people weren't that nutso.

"No! It's just a dream! People cannot turn into killing weapons anymore than I can change clothes instantly. It is just impossible. End of story. Nothing more," she yelled to herself. But even after her speech she couldn't help but have doubts, now that she had time to think about it. To test her theory, Sam pinched the skin on her arm. Hard. "Yeow!"

She rubbed the injured skin until the realization set in. "This is real? But it-no, no it can't be. This is too, too…INSANE to be real. No, no, no, no, no! It is NOT real, this IS a dream, and I AM going to wake up!" Her words sounded so final that she almost managed to convince herself. At least until she was suddenly pushed onto her belly, her arms twisted behind her back, with someone stepping on her.

"I didn't want to do it this way but if I have to…"

* * *

Nobody had noticed that Sam wasn't there until Maka had pointed out that she and Soul were doing fine on the mission by themselves. Spirit had looked to Sam for proof of their success and felt his cocky grin creep up his face as he said, "With no witch?"

Maka looked quickly at the empty part of space that Sam had just been occupying and did a double take. _Did she turn herself to dust? _When there was no people dust on the ground she gave a mental sigh of relief. Collecting a soul from dust is much harder than from and actual body. Then the anger that Sam had escaped _again_, and then came the depression at having _let_ her escape _again_. She slumped to the ground in boneless mass, silent tears of failure streaking her face.

Soul gaped, only just noticing Sam's absence. "Hey, where'd she go?" he barked at Spirit, as if the death scythe had and thing to do with her disappearance. Spirit glared right back at the red-eyed demon scythe.

"You're the one in charge of her! Why weren't you watching her? Ah," he exclaimed, a sneaky look on his face, "you probably planned this with her so that you could leave my Maka. Finally figured out you're not good enough for her, eh octopus head?"

Maka started fuming at the implication that Soul was going to run away for a witch he just met (mainly because she was feeling the same insecurities that she felt before with Blair) and Soul was already barely holding onto his cool and the implication that he was that low made him snap for the second time in fifteen minutes.

"I'm not a cheating #*$$^ like you! Cool guys don't cheat on their partners!" Soul snarled at Spirit. Maka's scowl softened remembering the words that he had said when she thought he was dropping her for Blair just because she had a better body. _Soul…_ The happy-go-lucky moment was ruined though when they all remembered that a witch was on the loose.

"Spread out and spit up," ordered Maka. "And if she looks like she might be about to do anything knock her out. She can willingly control atoms so she can destroy you in a heartbeat." With those words of warning she stomped off in the opposite direction that Sam had gone. Not that she knew that. Spirit muttered something about "stupid little creep" and stalked close after his daughter. Soul turned away from them both, stuffed his hands in his coat pockets, and started to walk.

Despite his outward appearance of cool indifference inside Soul was actually mulling over the information he had just gotten about Sam. _So…she can control atoms. Does that mean she can create things along with destroying them? _He shuddered thinking of what she could do. Not even Lord Death would be able to beat her if she could just turn him to stray particles. Plus the fact that yet another person was more useful (even in a potentially evil way) irked him despite how cool guys didn't get jealous. _**If you just listened to me you'd be more useful**_ whispered Little Ogre. Soul shoved him back into the Black Room and tried to shut him out, but before he was gone Little Ogre managed to say one more thing. _**Eat Sam's soul and you'll finally be a great death scythe.**_

Soul stopped in his tracks, eyes wide.

All he was missing to become a death scythe was the witch's soul. And if he was a death scythe then he could finally be able to protect his friends, not to mention be the coolest guy at the academy. He had imagined what it would be like to be a death scythe before. Hell, it was one of the only things he'd thought of since he'd found out he had the possibility of being a weapon. The ghost taste of a soul invaded his mouth and he drooled in pleasure at the mere thought. A witch's soul was bound to be tasty. Blair's didn't count because she was a cat and a disturbing one at that. He found himself imagining how he would go about taking her soul.

The pain in his chest hit him hard at that image and he gasped, doubling over. _My scar must be…still healing…_ he reasoned.

He rubbed his chest as he started walking again, so caught up in his musings that he almost tripped over the girl on her hands and knees, yelling to herself, "…No, no, no, no, no! It is NOT real, this IS a dream, and I AM going to wake up!"

He spared a moment to wonder what the hell she could be going on about but put it off as unimportant at the time as he pinned her to the ground. Her surprised yelp made a shark-toothed grin curl itself onto his face as he said, "I didn't want to do it this way but if I have to…"

One hit to the back of her head and Sam went limp. He smirked in satisfaction, threw her onto his back, and retraced his steps to tell Maka he got the witch. And this time she wasn't going to escape from them.

* * *

Sam jolted awake when she was dropped to the ground. She yowled and cursed, rolling around, trying to get up and nurse her sore tailbone at the same time. Hearing snickers from behind her she whipped around and gave whoever was doing it the death glare. A boy with blue hair cut in the vague shape of a star was grinning at her. Everything about him was odd but what Sam noticed most was his extreme shortness. Beside him stood a tall girl who was smiling patiently. Sam almost said something about how revealing her dress was but thought better at the last minute. Better to shut up than make enemies. To that girl's left was a boy who could be the definition of apathetic. Plain black suit with a couple of white strips on it and a weird neck tie in the shape of a skull. His yellow eyes were bored and blank. On either side of him were two blond girls wearing almost identical clothing. The taller one seemed not to care about what was going on while the shorter one looked at Sam in awe.

Sam backed away from them and bumped into someone, she looked over her shoulder so fast she almost broke her own neck. Behind her was that weird springy-mask-thingy she had seen Maka talking to through a mirror. With a squeal Sam launched herself away from it and the weird people staring at her.

Silence enveloped them before the guy with the blue hair started to laugh at her.

"Shut up!" Sam snapped. That just made him laugh harder and she started pouting against her will. Her first time meeting someone else with blue hair and he laughs at her! "What are you laughing at? It can't be the freaky hair colour because your hair is blue too, shorty!"

That got him to stop. He looked at Sam, as if sizing her up, and said, "Making a big man like me look smaller isn't going to work. It must hurt to be so small but trying to make me look small so you can be big by comparison is impossible. Do you know why?" He stared at Sam as if he was waiting for an answer, but just as she opened her mouth to give one he exploded, "BECAUSE I AM THE GREAT BLACK*STAR!"

"…Is he serious?" Sam asked the girl smiling forcefully now.

Sadly she nodded and once again tried to make up for her meister's stupidity. "My name is Tsubaki," she said, "and this is Black*Star."

Black*Star was busy boasting about himself and Sam decided to ignore him. Looking around at the people assembled, she could see that they had already come to the same conclusion a _long _time ago. Her eyes turned towards the people who weren't acting like idiots—yet—and tried to give them her sternest look.

"Where the hell am I and who the hell are the rest of you?" she asked, getting to her feet. She met the eyes of the twins, bored boy, and the spring person, who all looked right back, a silent challenge in their eyes. It said _make a move and we will kill you_. Sam shoved down her unease but she couldn't help but give a little shiver at the coldness she felt directed at her.

_Why are they giving me the death glare? I'm the one who was kidnapped! _I_ should be glaring_.

"Alright, alright, everybody settle down," Lord Death said. "Now, Sam" —Sam looked at him sharply with a what-did-I-do expression— "please calm down. We aren't going to hurt you, we just want some answers. Can you please tell us about yourself?"

Her expression changed into a blink of an eye and she looked at Lord Death with suspicion. "Why...?"

"Well, you _are_ the first witch we've encountered who's unaware of her power. We would like to know how you've stayed ignorant so long."

"Oh," she chirped, "that's easy! Ignorance is hereditary for me. But it takes real talent to be as good at it as I am." Her voice was too sickly sweet to be honest. It was obvious that she was being annoying. Instead of the over the top reaction she was hoping for the guy wearing the suit just gave her a bored stare. Otherwise nobody batted an eyelash. It was kinda frustrating.

The silence continued and Sam sword that she could hear crickets chirping from somewhere in the freaky room. "Alright. I'll tell you _a little_ about my life, but no interrupting—" a pointed look at Black*Star who had only recently shut up "—and no mocking me. Got it?" And without seeing their shared glances she barrelled on with her life story.

"I live in this cramped little community. Tons of perverts, tons of violence, and tons of people who don't really relate to me. I don't really understand or even tolerate my parents so talking to either of them is a chore and ends in fighting. I hate talking to them; staying in the same room is horribly awkward. So the whole coming out and saying "oh, by the way, you're a witch" is pretty much impossible. Then there's also the fact that I've tried to blend in just enough to be invisible in high school and there went any chance of doing anything freaky and extraordinary." She paused mid-rave to catch her breath and a thought struck her. "Hey, how did those windows explode, anyway? 'Cause they were just poof! Did I do that? If so, I am awesome than Shorty over there says he is."

"WHAT? Take that back you little punk! Nobody's greater than me, NOBODY! After I beat you you'll see who the greatest in the wo—!"

"Blah blah blah," Sam interrupted, turning her back to them. Steam rose out of Black*Star's nostrils and he charged at her, a battle cry rising in his throat, when everyone tackled him. "You really should learn to shut up, I mean see what's going on for once..." In the background Black*Star was fighting off everyone and was just about to take a swing at Sam when Lord Death Reaper Chopped him from behind. "...and then you wouldn't look so stupid."

She turned at that moment, her arms crossed in front of her, and gave a puzzled look at the unconscious boy at her feet.

"Why is he...why does he look like he got trampled by a herd of fat ladies at a fast diet pill sale?"

Liz cracked a smile and Patty laughed out loud, repeating "fat ladies, fat ladies" over and over. Even Tsubaki stifled a giggle. Lord Death cocked his head to the side with a question mark above his head.

Sam dismissed Black*Star quickly enough and scouted around him, taking a good look at the room she was in. There was a hallway made of guillotines and opposite that was a mirror. The rest of the place was simply blue skies and moving clouds for walls. If Sam wasn't so weirded out she might have thought it was nifty. (A/N on an entirely different note who says nifty anymore? If you hear somebody say it can you tell me?) Other than that the room was completely bare. Creepy, but bare.

_Weird place...you'd think I'd remember getting here...but I was asleep... _"WAIT!" shouted Sam, making everyone jump except Black*Star. "Wha-where am I? How did I get here? Let me go!" And with that eloquent speech she bolted for the guillotine hallway. Then she crashed into someone.

Arms came around to steady her as she began to fall and her heart squeezed in her chest, her blood pumping a little faster. White hair and a shark-toothed grin met her wide-eyed gaze and her heart stuttered against her will.

"You should really consider help. Every time we meet you screech and try to make a run for it." Soul's teasing made her face flame and Sam, like he predicted she would do, pushed herself away and stood her ground, planning on staying if only to spite him.

"Hmph. Just tell me where I am already."


	6. Chapter 6 Destruction and Denial

I don't own Soul eater. If I did then I'd be getting beaten by an angry mob right now.

Bewitched and Bewildered

Destruction and Denial

* * *

Everyone watched, amused, as Soul played mind games with the witch. Swiping away a lock of wavy blue hair, Sam planted her feet apart and crossed her arms, her face turning down in a pout that made her look like an indignant chipmunk. It took everything in Soul not to burst into laughter.

"Well, are you gonna answer the question or stare at me? I'm not that interesting," huffed Sam, recrossing her arms.

"This is Shibusen," Maka spoke up. "Where meisters learn to fight with their weapons for the purpose of ridding the world of Kishin eggs and creating death scythes, the weapon used by Lord Death."

"That guy." Soul said, pointing at the masked spring. Lord Death waved at Sam and she paled considerably.

"You m-mean, that-that _thing _is _DEATH_!" she shrieked and waved her arms wildly above her head. It wasn't clear to anyone if she was even pointing in the relative direction of Lord Death. "Oh God, I just snapped at Death. I'm gonna die! I'm gonna freaking die! I'm too talented at sarcasm to die! No!"

All of them—all the conscious ones cough, Black*Star, cough—sweat dropped at her rant and watched her pace back and forth.

"She's really a witch?" Kidd asked while Sam continued to whine pitifully at the sky.

"Yep. She can control atoms," Maka informed them. They were quiet as that sunk in.

"So she can create of destroy anything?" Tsubaki said, gawking as Sam tripped over flat ground and landed on her nose, her whining momentarily halted by cursing.

Soul nodded, also staring unabashed at the stupidity of Sam. "That's the idea."

"She looks funny!" Patty laughed at Sam, who by now was sneezing so hard she bonked her head on her knees.

As one everyone nodded. Sam, finally halting her insane sneeze fest, gave them a teary-eyed gaze. "I hit my nose," she whimpered like a little kid. And once again everyone sweat dropped. _Is she for real? Nobody capable of killing hundreds of people with a thought is that stupid. That crazy, but not that stupid_, Soul thought. It was at that moment that Black*Star regained consciousness.

"Hey, you guys hit me! But I'll forgive you because I'm such a big man. I'm not surprised that it took all of you to get me, either. You should really know better than to go after someone so much better than you." He sniffed. His voice caught Sam's attention and internally she smiled, her still sore and puffy nose forgotten. Slowly sidling to his side Sam stood straight, giving him a friendly grin, and held her hand above his head. She moved her hand towards her and the internal smirk showed clear on her lips when her hand just touched her nose.

"You aren't big," she mocked with a smile, "You're small. You're an itty bitty pip squeak, even compared to me, and my thirteen-year-old friend is a foot taller than me. She'd _tower_ over someone so obviously _smaller than a grain of sand_." And with that statement Sam stepped back and waited for his reaction.

She didn't have to wait long.

"NO ONE IS BEGGER THAN BLACK*STAR! FROM HELL TO THE STARS I AM THE GREATEST THERE IS! I'M THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO BE GREATER THAN GOD AND ABSOLUTELY _NO ONE_ IS BIG ENOUGH TO TOWER OVER ME!"

Sam was laughing half-way through and by the end she was hyperventilating on the ground, clutching at her stomach with one hand and banging the ground with the other. Tears sprung to her eyes and she gasped for air. "Can't-breath-need-help. Oh God-help me!" she cried in between fits of laughter. She clamped her lips shut and pulled herself together , ignorant of the looks that she was getting. As quickly as her laughter started it cut off and she was down to seriousness. Talk about mood swings. "Okay. So if this is...what, a school? Then that means you guys learn here, right? About witches and weapons and meisters and stuff?" Everyone exchanged what-the-hell glances. They thought she couldn't get any weirder than she already was.

She proved them wrong with one sentence.

"I wanna learn, too."

* * *

Sometime later Maka and Soul were given the great pleasure of escorting Sam around. Note the heavy sarcasm in that 'pleasure' part. Maka tried to keep things business like but every few seconds Sam would say something so naive it was funny or gaze with awe at the simplest things. Like a toddler at an amusement park. Maka even caught herself thinking that maybe they could use Sam, bring her to their side. Then her suspicion acted up again and the walls Sam had started to break through went up again, weaker but still there.

Soul was a little easier to break.

Even as he put on an act, making it seem like a boring chore, inside he was laughing at her antics. It wasn't often that you saw such innocence in Shibusen and when you did it didn't last long. Nobody stayed innocent knowing what they knew. He winced at that. If Sam were to join them, sure they'd have an uperhand, but she would also lose that childish naivety that made her want to help. It was a lose lose situation for her and they all knew it. Soul snuck a glance at Sam as she examined the plaque above their classroom with curiosity. Her silver eyes shone in the dim light and her blue hair revealed that within the midnight strands danced a little purple and cobalt.

_She's unique_, he thought, _special. A completely new case. No one is like her, and no one can ever be like her. _At that very moment Sam walked right into an open doorway. _I repeat, nobody can ever be like Sam. _

Meanwhile Sam muttered curses under her breath about "stupid doors" and rubbed her forehead angrily. "People really should put up warnings on these things. Like a big flashing sign that says 'Beware of open door. Move around object' so that all the...coordinationally challenged people have a warning," she grouched. Soul felt a smile tugging at his lips. He even noticed Maka was fighting a silly smile.

Sam, being Sam, didn't notice that her behaviour was odd. In fact, she was too interested in all the weird things around her to realize she was acting weird herself. The most mundane things seemed more interesting when they were part of a school that trained people to kill things. That would have sounded weird to people who hadn't just gone through everything that she had in the past...she didn't even know how long it had been since she was in class. Sam stopped in the middle of the hall, staring blankly at the cream walls. She couldn't tell how long she'd been out. She knew that she had been missing from school for about an hour and a half before she blacked out, but the rest was nothing. Hell, it could have been _days_ since she was kidnapped for all she knew!

Sam rounded on Soul and Maka abruptly. They didn't like the barely held back anxiety in her eyes. "How long was I out?"

"Huh?" they both said at once.

"How long?" Sam growled at them. Tears formed in her eyes and her voice started to break. "How freaking long have I been gone? Tell me! Where am I? Does anybody even know I'm here? Does my mom know? Oh God. She doesn't, does she?" By halfway through her rant electricity ran through her veins and the floor started to rumbled. Soul and Maka glared fearfully at the over emotional witch. This was bad. This was very, very bad. It was the windows all over again, her emotion getting out of control and her powers running rampant. But this time it was anger. And it was directed at her kidnappers. Them.

Soul pushed Maka behind him and she stared in fear as the walls started to slowly turn to dust, layer after layer coming off. Soul cast his ruby orbs over Sam; her body was quivering in anger and worry, her hair standing in the air like she'd rubbed her head against a balloon, and her eyes were squeezed shut, tears streaming down her face. One of her stockings was turning to dust around her shoes and strands of hair fizzled and went out with tiny hisses. A tickling sensation crept along Soul's arm and he looked down in shock at the bare skin of his arm. What the hell? Where'd his jacket sleeve...? realization set in when the tickling licked up around his shoulder and bushed against his bare arm. He shook the appendage and a quick glance behind him revealed Maka to be encountering the same problem with her sweater. One of the elastics holding her pigtails went out with a poof, as did Soul's headband.

_This is getting serious. If we don't calm her down soon then we're all going to turn into a pile of ashes!_ With that thought still ringing in his head Soul dashed forward, ready to knock her back into lala land for another couple of hours. He didn't expect for the floor to crumble under his weight. Tiles gave way beneath his feet and his eyes widened for a second before his hand lashed out, grasping for the ledge. If only he'd grabbed a split second sooner, or hadn't wasted time in being shocked, and he might have got it. His hand brushed against the floor as he fell and his mind went blank except for one thought; _this is not a cool way to die_.

* * *

Sam was out of it. She would admit it if she could speak around the sobs shaking her body. Dimly she was aware of the feeling running through her, the ticklish feeling that ran up her leg and along her scalp. She knew that she was bawling like a big baby and that she must look terrible in front of them, but when did she ever care how she looked in front of the people who kidnapped her. In a second all that sadness was replaced by burning anger. _They_ were the cause of her sobs. It was their fault and if she was this big scary witch that they kept making her out to be then she would do something about, murder be damned.

_Wait a minute, did I just think __**murder**_? The thought gave her only momentary pause, but it was enough. Call it coincidence, call it fate, but in that single second she saw Soul reach up. Time flowed quickly, so fast that Sam herself wasn't aware of what she was doing until she was dangling over the side of the ledge by an arm. She cried out at the pain, her limbs stretching in their sockets.

"Sam?"

Sam looked down and laughed at the expression on Soul's face. "Who did you expect, the Easter bunny?" Even to her ears the laugh sounded forced. Well, she was kinda in a tug of war with gravity and Soul. Her being the rope.

Sweat streamed from her skin and made her fingers slippery and weak. "No...stupid body, stop sweating! Just do what I say you rebellious meat bag!" Not that her sweat—or her body—was listening at this point. She couldn't stop her bodies' reaction anymore than she could stop gravity. And speaking of gravity...

With one last desperate effort her fingers slipped over the edge and Sam screamed, knowing she was going to fall hundreds of feet to her—

"Oof!"

—doom? Sam blinked in confusion when she found she was neither a pancake with protruding bones or even injured. Just a little shaken. In fact, she didn't even fall that far, she noted as she looked up at the hole in the ceiling. Maybe eight-ten feet at most. And even then she didn't actually hit the floor. Something broke her fall. At that very moment that "something" moved underneath her and she let out a strangled yelp as she was pushed to the side.

Just as suddenly she was back and tackled the "something", effectively laying straddling the something. "I've got yo—!" her exclamation of victory cut off abruptly when she noticed the "something" was Soul. And that she was currently straddling him. And she was blushing.

Sam scrambled off of him and backwards scuttled until her arms gave out. Still blushing tomato paste red she shrieked, "Pervert! Why were you-what were you doing under me! Oh, bad, very wrong words! That sounded so sick!"

If Soul hadn't been blushing just as much as she was he might have laughed. It wasn't everyday that the witches he encountered blushed so innocently. Plus the fact that the entire time she shook her head like a wet dog. _Very cute...NO! We already went over the cute thing. Cool guys don't say cute. She is stupid. Big difference._ Soul's face warmed considerably and he just about slapped himself. Now he was blushing! First the cute thing, then eavesdropping to know more about her, and now blushing? This girl—this witch was ruining him! He wasn't supposed to say cute or blush or care about books. Sure he was curious, but he made curious look cool most times. This was amateur, dorky eight-year-old curious that if it had been anyone else doing all these things then he'd say they liked them—

Soul trampled those thoughts right there.

No. He couldn't—wouldn't—like her. She was annoying and infuriating, mood swingy (cool guys are allowed to make up words), and so stupid that she made Maka's dad look like Einstein. And that was an incredible feat. He was Soul Eater Evans, the coolest guy at Shibusen, the next death scythe, an awesome demon scythe...you get it. He shouldn't like her. He couldn't like her.

So if he couldn't like her, why did he keep thinking about her? The way that she had clutched at his hand when he'd fallen, the way that the lights from above had made her hair blaze like blue fire, the way that her eyes sparkled when they were filled with emotion, be it rage of joy. Everything she did was stupid, and aggravating, and...just Sam. She didn't try and be a pathetic little whiner like most girls in her situation would have. She got mad. And although, yeah, it was kinda scary the way she got mad (he made sure to remember not to make her _really_ angry. Ever) it was refreshing. At least he didn't have to worry about head trauma from books whacking him over the head (pointed look at Maka as she looked down in concern at them) and it seemed that she could only turn inanimate objects to dust so far.

Thought he would have to get a new jacket because of her.

"Soul!" Maka called down to him, momentarily interrupting his inner musings. Her one pigtail hung over the ledge as she looked down and she kept slipping the loosened section behind her eyes. Every time it just fell back into her face.

Soul immediately tried to get rid of the blush on his face. The only thing his day was missing was yet _another_ Maka Chop for something she thought he deserved. But even with the quick raising of his bored face Maka caught the red the slightly coloured his face.

_What the...? Is that a blush?_ Her curiosity gave way to amusement. _That's new. Why is he blushing? No, it can't be Sam. He just met her a few hours ago. Definitely not Sam._ Maka thought the words but jealousy coiled in her stomach. It was just like a man to latch onto a pretty girl with big breasts. Her father was a good example of that. So what if Maka had thought that Soul was above that? He was a man, and she knew that all men cheated, all men broke the hearts of the people who love them, like he was doing right then—

_Woah!_ _Where did that come from?_ Maka threw herself onto her back and out of Soul's sight so he couldn't see her blush. Did she just...did she think love? No, she didn't feel that way. He was only her partner. And besides, even if she did feel that way, Soul was too good for a flat-chested bookworm—

"No! I don't feel that way," she murmured too low for anyone below to hear. "I don't..."

It seems that denials are popular today.

While Maka had been internally battling with her inner pessimist Soul and Sam had finally stood up. One glance between the two and blushed stained their skins all over again.

"Well..." Sam started hesitantly, "thanks. For, you know, um...breaking my fall."

"I didn't think you'd be that heavy." Was the reply she got.

Her awkwardness turned to indignation. "Hmph! Then why'd you bother if you were just gonna complain like a nancy boy afterward? If it weren't for me you would've fallen even more then you did!" she yelled and pointed at him. Let's see him match that!

"It wasn't that long a fall and the hundred and thirty pounds landing on my chest hurt more than the fall did," he threw back.

"I'm only a hundred and _fifteen_ and it didn't hurt that much only 'cause _I _slowed your fall."

They were getting really into this. If anybody had been watching they might have commented on how they looked like a couple in love. That, or worst enemies. But nobody was there, and they could let themselves bicker back and forth, even as they smiled good-naturedly at each other.

"I just came to see how—!" Kidd's voice floated down to them, just before the most anguished scream they'd ever heard erupted from above, followed by sobs and what might have been somebody banging their fists on the floor.

"...Wha...? Sam asked and looked at Soul, getting a simple, "Don't ask" from Soul. She would have objected but then Kidd started shouting, "It's hideous! Monstrous! Who would do this? This is horrible! An unsymmetrical horror! You make me sick..."

Sam's face paled and when Soul motioned for her to get moving she didn't say anything. She just trailed after him silently and thanked good that she wasn't up there with Kidd.

* * *

Maka wasn't so lucky. She got to listen to the entire rant with Kidd clutching at her leg, and then got roped into fixing the hole with him.

"Kidd, I have to—"

"We need this done. And we need to put a stop to the monster that did this." He clenched his fists as if it was murder instead of a hole in the floor.

"Yeah...I'm just going to...get some more boards for the floor..." she stammered while backing away slowly. Kidd nodded as he continued to mend the floor, mumbling "unsymmetrical" under his breath. Maka took that as consent and bolted.

"Where could they be?" she asked ten minutes later. She'd already checked downstairs, barely getting away when Kidd saw her slacking off. The training room, the courtyard, the ballroom, and their classroom were all clear. There was only one place left to look...but no, Soul would never go there. He constantly complained about going there when she dragged him there to study. But Sam did say she loved books and if Soul wanted to keep her distracted so she wouldn't destroy everything that was the place to take her.

Maka shook her head a final time as she pushed open the door, fully expecting to find it empty, but instead she saw Soul and Sam kissing.


	7. Chapter 7 Passion and Pain

I don't own Soul Eater. If only...

Bewitched and Bewildered

Passion and Pain

_Maka shook her head a final time as she pushed open the door, fully expecting to find it empty, but instead she saw Soul and Sam kissing. _

* * *

Instantly she slammed the door closed and leaned against it, breathing hard and fast. Her mind kept replaying the image that was burned in her eyes, and no amount of reasoning she did could get rid of it. But it couldn't be Soul, right? Soul wouldn't do that. He just met her! And she was a witch! A little part of her whispered that Soul seemed to like witches. Against her will images of Soul's reactions to Blaire, of him confiding in Medusa instead of her, flashed in front of her eyes. Okay, so he sorta had a thing for witches. It shouldn't bother her. It didn't bother her. Not at all. She wasn't bothered by the fact that he was inside the library, the room that she loved, kissing another girl he'd just met.

Sure...

Tears formed in her eyes. She was the one who partnered with him. She was the one who sat by his bedside when he was wounded. She was the one who he lived with, joked with. She was one of his best friends. She was the one who loved him!

Her eyes widened.

No...she didn't...it was just friendship...

The excuse sounded lame even to herself.

With a strangled sob she raced off, hearing the library door open behind her and her name chase her down the hall, ripped from Soul's throat.

If anything, she ran faster.

* * *

_Ten minutes earlier..._

"Where else can we go?" Sam asked Soul. They had been basically wandering around, trying to put as much distance between them and Kidd as possible, for the last five minutes. Sam's terrified expression had given way to a guilty grin that Soul immediately wanted to laugh at; she couldn't hide anything at all. It was like looking through a glass. He would say she was so obvious it was stupid if she didn't look so cute while doing it.

_There's that word again! Enough with the word cute! She's worse than Black*Star with subtlety; hard as that is to believe. It isn't cute at all._ Soul was falling apart inside. Everything she did was stupid—and endearing. Every time she ran into a wall or a door she would cast her wide silver eyes at him, as if she thought the obstructer had popped out of thin air, his heart would start beating erratically.

BONK.

"Ow!"

For example, now.

Sam stumbled away from the door she'd steered herself into with what can only be described as a flabbergasted expression. She smacked a hand on her forehead over yet another growing lump and turned to Soul, her mouth open in a silent O, her eyes shining in shock. In explanation she murmured, "Stupid door ran into me."

Soul, chuckling, felt a lump rise in his throat. Okay, he could admit it; she was a _little_ cute, like a clumsy puppy that wasn't used to its own body yet. The pout that Sam aimed at him told him that she didn't appreciate being laughed at. Too bad for Soul because her pout, which puffed up her face like an angry chipmunk, made heat rise to his face. What was wrong with him? Where did the cool and collected Soul go? He just met the girl and already he was starting to like her!

Wait. Like?

Panic snaked into his stomach and he looked around desperately for a distraction, anything to get her not to notice how red he had suddenly gone. And there, gleaming in gold beside the door, it was.

The library.

"How about here?" he asked with a little panic bleeding into his voice.

Sam cocked her head to the side. "Where? What? Where did that sentence come from?" Obviously she had forgotten her unanswered question in yet another small head trauma.

"You wanted to go somewhere else, didn't you?"

Understanding brightened her silver eyes and she whipped her head back and forth between the door and the sign, back and forth, her blue hair flaring out around her. When she spun on her heel to look at Soul he nearly yelped in fright; smiles that wide should only be used by the Joker.

"You guys have a library? Awesome! I needed a couple more books to read after I finished Last Sacrifice..." the rest of her sentence was muted by her rushing into the library like a kid in a candy store. Soul felt an honest grin—one devoid of any attempt at looking cool or playing calm—tug at his lips as he watched the only girl he would call cute.

* * *

Sam was in heaven. So many books, so much paper, so many opportunities to get lost in pulp and ink. She climbed the high shelves like a monkey, ignorant of the spontaneous nose bleed Soul had while looking up at her (her shorts were way too short for climbing), and threw down book after book that she found interesting.

Each book was punctuated with a bellow of pain from Soul.

Sam hopped down from her perch on the shelf and landed safely on her pile of books. "Soul," she called cheerily, "do you know where I can check these out?"

When no one answered her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Soul? Soul, where are you? If you ran off on me, I will throttle you!" Her voice echoed in the large room and made every eye turn to her, eyebrows raised in suspicion. But, considering that this was Shibusen, it wasn't that odd for threats to be thrown around in public places.

A hand suddenly sprang from the books and clutched at Sam's ankle tightly. A scream tore from her throat as she stomped on the fingers, a shout of pain coming from below her, and she sprang away. The injured hand clawed at the books, dragging a body out from under the literature like a zombie from its grave. With the same evil glint in the body's eyes.

"What the hell was that for? You didn't have to bury me in books! I should have eaten your soul when I had the chance!" roared Soul, pointing his finger accusingly at Sam.

Instantly her temper flared to life. "And I should've made you disintegrate when I had the chance, too!"

They were both so angry that neither noticed how they were moving closer to each other, until soon they could feel each other's breath on their cheeks.

"You're a psycho! I'm probably the only one who thinks you're cute!"

"Pot calling the kettle black, baby! I'm more than likely the only sane girl in this entire world who thinks you're hot!"

"You're an idiot!"

"You're a jerk!"

"Would you shut up already?"

"Make m—mmm!"

Soul, for once doing as he was told, made her. He crashed his mouth onto Sam's and pulled her to him, cradling the back of her head with one hand while the other wound around her waist. For a brief moment Sam fought against the kiss, pushing at his chest, but as soon as her hands touched him she feel helplessly against him. It was like stars colliding, fireworks dancing across the inside of their eyelids, and neither exactly knew what they were doing, they just knew that it felt _right_.

And that was the moment that Maka saw them.

They wouldn't have noticed she was there at all if she hadn't slammed the door, breaking the couple away from each other. Soul pushed her back and threw himself back onto the books, sending paperbacks and hardcover's skittering across the floor. Sam landed on her back and soon she leapt to her feet, swiping up a hardcover and holding it like a weapon above her head. The gesture was so like Maka that Soul suddenly paled as he realized what had just happened.

They kissed. Passionately. And Maka saw them. _Maka saw them_.

She was going to kill him.

He bolted to the door. Even through the thick wood he could hear the sobs of his meister and his heart stopped. But that didn't stop him from shoving open the door. Her footfalls echoed in the hallway and he could see her, running from the door like her life depended on it.

"MAKA!" Soul shouted desperately, and his heart clenched painfully when the sound of his voice only made her speed up.

"She saw." Sam whispered. It wasn't a question. Soul looked over his shoulder at her; she was still clutching the book, her arms raised over her head, not having moved a single step from where she stood. Soul abruptly hated her. She was the reason that his meister was crying! She was the reason that he was questioning himself, letting himself hesitate on the mission! He would have a witches soul filling his stomach right at that moment if she hadn't been...HER!

"What do we do?"

Sam shouldn't have spoken. She should have kept silent, let Soul calm down and think things through before she did anything. But, not knowing his thoughts at the moment, she spoke.

And he snapped.

"We? _WE_? There is no "we" and I'm not doing anything with _you_," the words dripped with acidic hatred towards her and she took a step back in fear. "You're the cause of all this! You made me hesitate, you made everything more complicated, _you_ made my meister—my Maka cry! Everything is all your fault and you can go to hell for all I care!" Soul stalked out of the room at the end of his tirade and the library fell into complete silence. The only sound came when the book dropped from Sam's hands and landed on the floor with a bang, followed by her rapid footfalls as she fled from the room.

If anybody had cared to look they would have found that in the place Sam had been standing a dent was made in the floor and that her abandoned book was turning to dust.

* * *

"Let me in! Maka, I live here too! You can't just shut me out!" Soul yelled, pounding on the door to their shared apartment. There was no sound from inside and it made him feel worse than if she was throwing curses at him through the door. Maka didn't ignore things that irritated her. She spoke her mind, letting you know just how angry she was. She had never been good at controlling her emotions; it was one of the reasons that he admired her. It made her an honest person.

And now she wasn't even speaking to him.

He stood for a moment outside his door—a door that he should be able to use his key on, if he had remembered that he'd left it in his duffel bag; which was on the other side of that door. Soul ran a hand through his hair, spiking the messy white strands up even more. He really did it this time. This wasn't like with her accusations about him and Blaire, ones that he could deny truthfully and vehemently. This time he _did_ kiss Sam. He _did _want her.

And he'd lived up to Maka's angered accusations.

Soul winced internally as he slid with his back against his door. He did exactly what her father always did, chasing after a pretty girl without a second thought of anyone. Without a second thought of Maka. He'd worked hard to bring her out of the prejudice that all men were cheating scum and then he showed her that they were. He was no better than that idiot father of her's.

At that very moment he would give anything to have her whack him over the head with a book, to shout in his ear angrily, or to blame him for something. Anything at all would be better than her ignoring his very existence.

But he didn't mean to! He didn't know that he was about to kiss Sam, or that Maka would even see. All he remembered was feeling angry at her, letting his emotions go as they argued back and forth. He hadn't noticed that he let slip he thought she was cute, nor the fact she thought he was hot. He had noticed the way her face flushed with anger and her lips formed the words, how her breath smelt of strawberries and maple syrup. And then he just noticed how good it felt when he was kissing her. And how perfect it felt when she kissed him back

No! He shouldn't even be thinking about her when Maka was hurt and alone.

"Maka," he said, his voice filled with pain, "please, if you won't let me in, at least don't lock yourself away alone. Go to Tsubaki or the twins, but please, don't let yourself be hurt alone. I might be no better than that pervy father of your's, but that doesn't mean that you should suffer for my mistake." Soul paused and listened for a sign that she was even alive on the other side of the door. There wasn't a sound, not even a mutter of denial when he mentioned her father. Dejectedly he walked away, but not before saying in his most sincere voice, "I'm sorry I lived down to your expectations."

When Maka couldn't hear his footsteps on the other side of the door she reached blindly for the phone. The person on the other end picked up after the first three rings.

"Hello?" Tsubaki's voice made the sobs Maka was holding back start.

"Ts-Tsubaki? Can you please stay over tonight?"

"Maka? Is that you? Are you alright?" Tsubaki's voice rose in concern for her friend.

"I don't want to be alone right now," whimpered Maka into the receiver. She hung up the phone on Tsubaki's questions and curled herself into a ball, letting her tears flow freely.

* * *

Sam was numb.

She didn't care if she ran into people in the halls, knocking things over and clipping her shoulders on corners. She didn't feel the pain when she tripped on the steps of the school as she ran, picking herself up and continuing to run, leaving a trail of blood behind from her skinned legs. The only thought running through Sam's head was to get away; to get far from the pain that was like a stab wound to her heart.

The grinning moon cast just enough light for her to navigate the streets of Death City, illuminating her fleeing shadow that streaked across buildings like a ghost.

Ghost. It fit the way she was feeling. Like she was trapped in a place she shouldn't be, doomed to an existence she wouldn't wish on anybody. She couldn't even feel her body, how her muscles strained in protest at her constant running or how her knees had started to tremble from exertion. Yes, ghost described her perfectly.

It wasn't until her head hit the road that she realized her knees had given out on her. That was when the thought to get away died and with it her energy. Sam curled in on herself, ignoring the way that the blood trickling from the cut on her head stuck to her hair, and let the pain that she'd been holding back wash over her. Tears silently ran down her face and mixed in the blood pooling under her as she shook and trembled, her muscles screaming at her in pain and the words Soul had said to her playing in her head continuously, like they were stuck on replay. Every time she remembered it her heart cracked and stuttered, until she couldn't even move aside from involuntary twitches.

It seemed everyone involved in the kiss was suffering.

But unlike Maka and Soul, Sam wasn't alone.

Something growled from the shadows of the buildings around her, a screech of metal on stone causing Sam's ears to ring in pain. She didn't react, though; just lay in the ball she'd curled herself into. The screeching got louder as the growls came closer, a deformed shadow falling over Sam. The only reaction she gave was looking up at it out of the corner of her eye.

If she had been in her right mind (it went without saying that she wasn't) she would have been terrified by his appearance alone, without the 22. pointed at her head. He looked human. Well, except for the crazed expression on his face. His grin stretched from ear to ear, showing teeth that were rotting in his vey mouth. He wore the clothes of a rocker and from the headphones on his ear blasted heavy metal loud enough that the sound bounced off the buildings. His skin was sickly white and one of his spidery hands tugged at the hem of his shirt while the other waved around the gun.

"Hello there, girly. What's a pretty girl like you doing out here? Are you with anybody? Got a guy around here somewhere?" The words were slimy and made Sam's skin crawl. There was too much anticipation behind the words, like he wanted her to be with a guy. Almost imperceptively his fingers twitched around the trigger. He definitely wanted there to be a guy with her.

Sam remained silent. The guy with the gun frowned at her. She was supposed to be screaming. It wasn't any fun if they didn't scream. Or cower. Cower was alright, as long as they whimpered, too. His grin suddenly returned as he advanced on her. So he might not get to shot any guy she was with; he could still have her. He knew how to get her screaming.

"Now, pretty girl, wanna have some fun? I bet we can. We just need to get you straightened out..." he smirked confidently and reached for her. Sam's eyes narrowed almost imperceptively but she didn't move. Not even when he tried to turn her onto her back. She didn't need to.

The guy's hand disintegrated immediately.

He stared in shock at the missing hand and watched as the arm followed it. It was interesting and he grabbed at the dust his arm was becoming. It finally registered that he was in pain when his chest turned to dust. His screams echoed in the empty streets as he dusted, leaving behind only a glowing red orb that floated in the air beside a discarded 22. The only evidence that Richard Ramirez had ever even existed.

It was completely terrifying. And Sam didn't even bat an eyelash.

Instead, she hugged her arms tighter around herself against the cold night air and cuddled into the bloody cobblestone street. Not that the distraction was gone, she could brood over the kiss. Her _first kiss_. It was the best kiss she'd ever had—not that she had any other kisses to compare it to. But still, even she knew when something was good. It was filled with angst and confusion and affection and pain and...

..._Passion_.

With that thought ringing in her head she fell asleep, hypothermia turning her skin a sickly blue hue, her blood drying on her skin.

It seemed that with that passion came horrible pain.

**Please help stop world illiteracy and recommend this story to all fellow Soul Eater fans. Your contribution makes a big difference. And don't forget that reviews make updates come faster! And any ego boasts make my writing better;)**


	8. Chapter 8 Consequences and Kitty Cats

**Sorry for the lateness. Writer's block sucks. Anyway, just read it.**

**I...I d-don't OWN SOUL EATER! *breaks down crying and drowns in tears***

Chapter 8

Consequences and Kitty Cats

"Pum-pum-pum-pum, I always get what I want, just give it to me. Pum-pum-pum-pum, I'm a beauty-beautiful, pretty lady. But you know, you know, I got a secret yes I do, pum-pum-pumpkin; 'cause that's my magic spell. Pu-pum-pumpkin, pum-pum-pumpkin, yeah!"

Blaire strutted down the streets of Death City as the sun rose, laughing mockingly at the inhabitants of the city. Cat ears poked out from beneath her pointed hat and her skirt bobbed with each step. It was early enough that nobody sane was awake except the extremely magical cat. Why she was awake was simple; she had to get to Soul's before he woke up and managed to leave for school. Maka had locked her out last night saying that she "needed to think things over" and there had been nothing to do. Of course she took her customary bath to ease her boredom but not even her enchanted back-scrubber could keep her occupied.

It was then that she saw the body.

"Hmm? Why is that there?" Not at all fazed by the sight, Blaire skipped over and pushed the body onto its back. Navy blue hair splayed around the blue tinged face and her eyelids fluttered as if in a restless dream.

"Why are you sleeping out here?" Blaire asked. If she expected a reply she was sadly disappointed. "Oh well. You're coming home with me."

And with that declaration Blaire popped a pumpkin into existence, threw Sam onto it, leapt on, and flew away.

* * *

"Hmm...warm good..." Sam murmured, snuggling into the blankets surrounding her. Blaire watched from beside her bed, her ears flicking with every creak of the bed and sleepy mutter. She got up softly and padded out of the bedroom. The girl was bound to wake up soon. She was going to be hungry after being asleep for the whole day, and who knew how long before that.

"Fish would be nice. A warm and yummy fish!" exclaimed Blaire as she skipped into the kitchen. She opened her fridge and inspected the contents. "Hey, where's my fish?"

If Blaire had remembered she would have realized that since she'd been living with Soul and Maka since their meeting and thus didn't need to stock up her fridge at home. All that was let was a mouldy piece of cheese, a half empty bottle of milk, and a rotting tomato. Sniffing the mil, Blaire suddenly recoiled, scrunching up her nose as she tossed the milk bottle into the sink.

"Yuck! Rotten milk."

Okay...so they couldn't have fish. But people eat rotten tomatoes, right? With that sort of disgusting thought, Blaire took out the fruit that was starting to grow mushrooms, put it on a plate, and took it into her bedroom.

"Hey there, little girl, I've got food!"

When she entered the room she saw the girl sitting up in bed. Her blue hair stuck up wildly on one side while the other was plastered to her face with her own blood. Sam turned at Blaire's entrance, but gave no response other than a slight incline of her head that she heard her. her silver eyes were dull and her skin was still slightly pale from blood loss.

Blaire set the plate of compost (because it really did resemble compost more than a meal for consumption) on her dresser and walked over to Sam, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Are you okay? You slept a long time. At least you're not blue anymore," she said as she looked Sam over. She noted the blood plastering hair to her face and the way that her clothes were coated in dirt. "But you do need a bubble bath. I have the perfect bubbles for you!" Blaire grabbed Sam's wrist and dragged her to the door. She caught sight of something and stopped, a smile stretching across her face.

"And while you're in the bath you can have your dinner!"

Sam found herself covered in bubbles up to her chin, a magic brush scrubbing at her back, and being spoon fed trash. If she had been entirely in her right mind she would have thrown up from the meal, but seeing as how she was going catatonic, it didn't really matter. It wasn't as if she could taste it.

"Come on, little girl, you have to eat more. You look dead," Blaire ordered, poking at Sam's lips with her spoon full of nasty.

She sighed in defeat when Sam not only didn't open her mouth, but sank farther into the bubbles, being devoured by glistening peach scented foam.

"You have to eat. You lost too much blood on the street and if you don't eat you'll die."

Okay, so maybe a little too blunt. But it did work.

Sam pulled herself from the bubbles, getting bonked on the head with the brush. Her once dull eyes were somewhat animated, her blue hair flattened to her head with bubbles sticking like a crown to her.

She stared intently at Blaire. "What's so bad about dying? I've got nothin' left to live for." And with that she let herself sink farther into her foamy demise.

Blaire's eyes softened as she regarded the small patch of blue head that stuck above the bubbles. "Guy rejected you, huh?"

"You said it," was the reply from the tub.

"You can't let one rejection get you down," Blaire purred. "If you do than you give up on yourself. And you're way better than that." She leaned against the tub and tugged at Sam's hair. "Are you going to just give up all because of some guy?"

Sam rose up just enough to poke her eyes out of the bubbles and give Blaire an are-you-kidding-me look. "Well, I'm trying to drown myself in a bubble bath after I almost bled to death on the street. What do you think?"

"Come on. Cheer up! There's more to life than boys!"

"Like what?" Sam asked cynically. "True love? Cheese? I need a guy to fall in love so there goes the whole 'who needs boys' thing."

Blaire glared at the silver eyes above the tub.

"But you do have a point," whispered Sam, looking off into the distance. "It would be stupid and pathetic to just mop because a guy doesn't like you."

"And dying on the street isn't?" muttered Blaire.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing."

"Anyway," Sam turned her eyes back to the cat. "I need to stop brooding. Get up. Maybe vaporize some stuff to make me feel better."

"You're a witch?" Blaire exclaimed.

"Yeah. You couldn't tell? Everyone else seemed to know even before I did."

You could hardly blame Blaire for not realizing it. Sam didn't have the feeling of a sinister killing creature bent on destruction nor was she going around trying to destroy Shibusen (that one incident with the floor didn't count). Other than her freaky hair colour and the weird outfit she could be completely normal. Okay, so Blaire did find her on the street, lying in her own pool of blood, beside a Kishin soul, but considering that this was Death City it wasn't that rare.

"Oh! Than I could teach you some spells!"

"_You're_ a witch?" Sam pulled herself out of her bubbley bed and gawked at Blaire. She looked more like a playboy model or a cosplayer than a witch. Granted, Sam had never met a witch but shouldn't she have warts or a magic broomstick or at least a giant black cape?

"No, I'm just a cat with a ridiculous amount of power." To prove her point, she twitched her ears and her tail appeared from under her skirt. Sam's eyes widened at the sight.

"Okay...do you, like, do any..." she waved her hands around in the air "...cat tricks?"

"I can turn into a cat, if that's what you mean." Blaire disappeared in a puff of purple smoke and as the smoke cleared a little black cat with topaz eyes was in her place. "See?"

For a second it was completely silent, then, "KITTY!"

Blaire had only a second to blink before she was being crushed against Sam's chest. She clawed furiously at her arms but Sam didn't let go. If anything, she squeezed tighter.

"Oh my god, aren't you just so cute! With your silky black fur and pretty yellow eyes you look adorable!" Sam squealed, shaking Blaire in her arms.

Blaire squeezed herself out of her prison and leapt to freedom. Bubbles trailed across the floor as she slipped out of the bathroom, Sam's excited shouts echoing after her.

"Hey! Wait up! I won't freak out aga—Oof! Ah, damn it! Stupid floor."

Lucky for Blaire that Sam was a bit...clumsy. So clumsy that she tripped over her own feet, ran into doors, and fell out of bathtubs. The topaz-eyed cat skidded into her room, darting under the bed and burying herself under a forgotten dress just as a pair of soapy feet thudded to a halt outside the door.

"Blaaiireee...I know you're in here...come on out...don't make me bring out the catnip..." Sam sang as she checked over the room. Blaire had to bite down on her own paw to keep from mewling in pleasure. The soapy feet continued to roam around the room, occasionally stopping to check out the closet or the dresser. All the while Sam promised and threatened with a sugary sweet voice that made Blaire's hair stand on end. Suddenly the little girl seemed more like a witch; she was obviously bonkers and sadistic.

The feet stopped in front of the bed.

Blaire held her breath as she waited for the end to come, staring intently at the ankles in front of her. The only sound in the room was Sam's breathing and the little plips of water dripping from her hair. The feet shuffled around the bed, each step drawing her closer to Blaire's hiding place. Anxiety curled its way through Blaire's stomach as the feet inched their way closer and closer, until she could make out the chipped green nail polish on Sam's toes. And then, she stopped. The feet moved away, turning swiftly out the door, the sound of footsteps moving farther away. Blaire breathed a sigh of relief.

That was when her floor turned to dust underneath him.

"Meowwll!"

Blaire tumbled to the first floor, clawing at the air desperately as she spun around. She braced out her legs and squeezed her gem stone eyes shut. It might not really hurt but falling was still frightening.

"Gotcha!"

And then she wasn't falling anymore.

Sam looked down at her and slowly lowered her to the ground. Blinking her topaz eyes at her, Blaire cocked her head to the side in confusion. So...she was just letting her go? Just like that? After the threats and the chase she just dropped her? It sounded like a complete waste of time but Blaire wasn't complaining. She bolted for the door behind Sam but a pair of arms snaked out and grabbed her by her middle.

"And where," Sam said, "do you think you're going?"

"Aren't you letting me go?" asked Blaire.

Sam snorted. "Nope." She popped the p. "I want to make a deal."

Blaire regarded her with suspicion and curiosity. This could get interesting. "And what do you want?"

"I let you go," Sam smirked at Blaire's delighted expression, "_if_ you teach me magic spells. Spells I can use to fight."

"Why would you need those?"

"Because, I don't think that it would be smart to walk around here without a way to defend yourself. And since I can't rely on those weird people at that school I have to take care of myself." Sam fixed the towel around her body as it began to droop. She didn't really have time to create new clothes for herself in her hurry to catch Blaire and Sam being Sam, it still hadn't occurred to her.

Blaire thought over the deal. The little witch only wanted to know some spells; she could do that. Though...spells used to fight...that couldn't be good. Witches didn't have a good history in Death City. It could have something to do with the fact that all the witches previously had been psychotic women bent on world domination and destruction, killing anyone who got in their way. Looking Sam over, Blaire noted the slightly tangled hair and the crazy look in her silver eyes. Maybe this wasn't such a good deal but she didn't want to be held hostage in her own home. Murder and destruction or getting out of her home...? the choice was obvious.

"Okay. I'll teach you." Blaire meowed and clasped her paws over her ears as Sam screamed in excitement.

"Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is awesome! Nothing could ruin this moment." Sam jumped up and down, clapping her hands. Sadly, she didn't think about the head wound that was still open and blood started to gush down her face. The scent hit her like a wall or bricks and a second later she was drooling on the floor, muttering "Bad smell...hate blood..." under her breath.

Blaire stared for a second at the crippled witch. She blinked, licked her paw, and walked for the door.

"Maybe Maka will let me in now...?"

* * *

In another part of Death City, Maka was cuddling her pillow to her chest, used tissues scattered around her bedroom. Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty had bags under their eyes from the last twenty-four hours spent comforting their blubbering friend, saying everything from "He's not worth it" to "There are other fish in the sea". Tissue by tissue, exhaustion had finally started to overcome Maka, until her puffy eyes were straining to stay open and every few minutes her head would drop on her neck, only to pop back up, a fresh batch of tears streaking down her face.

"How long until she falls asleep?" whined Liz quietly to Patty. A snore sounded from beside her and she saw her sister fast asleep, her mouth open and a little drool dripping down her chin. Liz looked to Tsubaki in exasperation and saw that Tsubaki was barely keeping herself up. "Ah, to hell with it. Maka, you need sleep. This isn't healthy for you. It isn't healthy for _any _of us. Just rest your eyes..." she broke off to yawn, her train of thought unravelling with every second "...lay down..." she lowered herself to the carpet and snuggled against her arms "...and sleep."

And there goes the other Thompson twin.

Tsubaki watched her friend through heavy eyelids and had to fight not to drop right there. "Maka," she said. "Rest. We already missed school and if you want to go tomorrow you need to sleep. Like Liz said, it isn't healthy. We all need to rest..." she stopped talking when she saw that Maka's eyes were finally closed, even if she was still crying. "...At least she's asleep."

With that last hesitant sentence she dropped to the ground and fell into a dream of killing soul and that new witch. Painfully.

* * *

Soul wouldn't cry. It was so not cool to cry. But brooding was alright. A little repentant-vampire-out-to-do-good, but better than crying. He stopped walking for the thousandth time and stared at where he thought his apartment would be. _Is Maka alright? I hope she listened to me and called Tsubaki. Maybe I should talk to Black*Star..._ He squashed that thought before he could stew on it. No way. The last thing he needed was Black*Star going around, shouting from the rooftops about his feelings for Maka and that kiss with Sam.

_Sam...I wonder how she is. Where she is. She could be anywhere. She could be dead somewhere._ It was the first time he'd thought of her since he left her in the library and he felt guilt stab him in his gut. She was his responsibility and what does he do; he kisses her, yells at her, and then leaves her. _Nice, Soul, really cool. _

He should be looking for her. Who knew what she was capable of in her state? A little fright and anger and she could turn hundreds of window to glass subconsciously. Think what would happen if she was in emotional trauma and all alone in a new and scary place. He shivered. Pulling his hands from his pocket, he started running, checking every single shop or place he thought she might go to. Maybe the bookstore? The courtyard? The basketball court? Chupa Cabre's?

Every single place he went to nobody knew anything about a girl with navy hair and silver eyes.

He sighed as he closed the door to Chupa Care's, his cheeks warm from his blush and a little blood trickling down his chin.

"Damn them. How can I be all cool and ask questions when they're all hot like that? No wonder Maka's pervy dad likes it there..." he muttered, whipping at the blood under his nose. He walked a little farther, each step diminishing his hope.

That is, until he came across the Kishin soul.

He stopped and stared. Now that was rare. Not the fact that there was a Kishin soul but that nobody had eaten it. Whoever killed the Kishin must not have known what to do with it, and there was only one person who could kill a Kishin but wouldn't know to eat it:

"Sam."

And with that one word his hopes rose again and he bolted down the street. His ruby eyes were hard and determined at his task as the buildings flew by.

_Stay safe, Sam. I'll find you. And when I do I'll...I'll...I'll find you._

**All SoMa fans, please forgive me. It's not that he doesn't have feelings for Maka, it's just...he's guy and doesn't think well. I apologize to all males reading this but think of that one stupid person you know and if it's a guy than I was it's just funnier if the guy's the idiot. Buh bye. Remember, every hit to this story saves one person from illeteracy.**


	9. Chapter 9 Fear and Fury

**Sorry about the utter lateness but I've had two tests every week for the past two weeks, homework everyday, and a computer program that needs planning, so just drop it and read...sorry again for snapping but this was the only day in a long while that I had no homework and I just finished the chapter. You know the drill: read, review, and recommend.**

**I don't own Soul Eater.**

Chapter 9

Fear and Fury

"I...I don't think this is right."

"Ah, come on, it's not that bad!"

"But it's not supposed to _move_."

Sunlight shone over Death City, the giant spiked ball of gas laughing mockingly. Just looking at it gave Sam the shivers. Inanimate objects weren't meant to have expressions. It was just wrong. Throwing a slightly cautious glance at the sun, Sam let her eyes wander back to the moving thing and cringed. Yeah...maybe she shouldn't try making anything too intricate with magic. Like a pumpkin. Especially if that pumpkin was in the shape of a U, hot pink, and wriggling on the ground.

The thing wriggled closer and Sam stepped behind Blaire without hesitation. No way in hell was that thing getting near her. It could eat the cat for all she cared, as long as she got away. Self-preservation, right?

Blaire looked over her shoulder at the blue-haired witch questioningly. "Hey, what are you doing over there, little witch?"

"Hiding," she answered immediately. "And waiting for it to suddenly mutate and turn into a flesh eating monster that will rampage around the city and breathe fire."

Blaire flicked her hand in a sign of disagreement. "Nah. Mutated monsters don't breath fire. They simple crush things."

"Yeah, 'cause that's reassuring." Note the heavy sarcasm in her voice.

Blaire abruptly stepped out of the way and Sam was left facing the monstrosity she'd created. It looked at her, the clumsily carved out eyes staring blankly, before it suddenly let out a scream like a dying bird.

Sam screamed and ran.

_Coward, idiot, moron, baby, stupid, puss-brain, weakling, girly-girl! Why in hell are you running? You made the damn thing now take responsibility! How are you going to take care of yourself if this scares you?_ Sam mentally shoved the voice into the darker parts of her mind, hoping that it would shrivel and die, because she was tired of it. Didn't mean it wasn't right but she just couldn't take it all so quickly. So running it was.

Too bad that Sam had no idea where she was running to.

When she finally stopped, doubling over in exhaustion, she looked up at her surroundings in co9nfusion that quickly bled away to fear. She was standing at the edge of a desert. A very big, can't-even-see-where-it-ends-going-on-for-days-without-shade desert. Looking back she spotted the forest where Blaire's house was, with her evil screaming pumpkin. Her head whipped back and forth between the desert and the forest; brave the desert and possibly die and be eaten by buzzards or go back and get eaten by a pumpkin? There really was only one decision if she wanted to get back home.

Sam hung her head and said in a defeated voice, "I'm so screwed." And then she turned around and started walking for the forest.

* * *

Soul was ticked. The stupid witch ran off and now he couldn't even find her! The only clue he had that she'd even stayed in Death City was the Kishin soul and even that was just a guess. How the hell was he supposed to find her when she just up and disappeared? He'd run up and down the whole damn city at least five times and he was starting to get looks from the people. He wasn't crazy! He was just...he didn't know, really. Concerned, maybe? Frustrated? The second one sounded better. Less like he was actually worried about Sam, despite how true it was. Hey, he didn't have to admit it out loud but that didn't mean he didn't know it was true.

Soul shook his head; he was going crazy if his backwards thinking was any indication.

"Where could she be? It's not like she knows anyone. And nobody normal would let a witch into their home; they'd have to be either very stupid or very confident..." A thought suddenly struck him and he groaned aloud at it. "She couldn't be _there_!" he exclaimed, but none the less he found himself running off to the one person who was likely to harbour a witch just out of stupidity and confidence.

* * *

"Oh, you're back!"

Sam looked around for the voice but came up blank. She knew it came from Blaire but where was the cat?

A sudden weight crushed her and she found herself face-planting in the dirt.

"I knew you'd come back. You had to keep your part of the bargain." Blaire's voice came from above her. "And you couldn't escape that easily."

Lifting he head slightly from the ground, Sam groaned, "So you knew that I couldn't get anywhere but you let me just run around like an idiot?"

"Yep."

Sam heaved a heavy sigh; when would all this end. She knew that she made making her into an idiot easy—not intentionally, of course—but this was taking it a bit far. She must have run a couple of miles just to the desert itself and then the walk back had tired her out. And to think that she could have saved herself from wasting all that effort...another long sigh slipped past her lips. Yeah, she made it real easy to make her look like an idiot.

"Can you just get off of me now?"

Blaire leapt off of Sam, standing perfectly still as the witch pulled herself to her feet, dusting dirt off of the clothes she'd borrowed from Blaire. A blush warmed her cheeks as she fingered the black material.

The skirt was way too short for her taste, and since the thing flared way out there, sticking up in the air whenever she bent over, she was sure that if anybody was behind her they would have been flashed by a pair of Blaire's panties, also borrowed. It seemed a bit wrong to Sam to borrow someone clothes (and panties...urgh...) but she didn't want to risk anything weird appearing on her. looking at the still wiggling pumpkin, she knew she made the right choice.

And speaking of the pumpkin...

A long, slimy something slid along Sam's calf. She gasped at the feel and twitched, trying to shake away the feeling. When it didn't go away, but just continued to stick to her skin, she looked down, and nearly toppled over.

_What the hell is it __doing__?_ _God, it licked me-it freaking licked me! Oh God, I think I need another bath. Or twenty. Or maybe just to peal my flesh off._ Sam scuttled from the pumpkin as she thought, holding onto herself tightly, wishing that the thing would just fall down and _die_. To prove that it really wasn't her day, the pumpkin not only followed her, but did a flesh-eating-zombie-crawling-out-of-its-grave wriggle towards her. For every step back she took the pumpkin—let's just call him the Great Pumpkin—got closer, until there were no more steps back to take. Rough bark dug into her back and scraped against the dress as she pressed herself farther into the tree, trying to disappear desperately. The Great Pumpkin stopped a foot away from her, breathing heavy, rasping breaths through its jagged hole of a mouth.

"G-good, Great Pumpkin," Sam stammered nervously. She shot a look at Blaire of help-me but couldn't even see the cat. _Damn it_, she cursed internally, a bead of sweat dripping down her face, _just when I need her she runs off!_ "Please st-step back, okay?"

The Great Pumpkin gave no indication that he could even hear her. It just lay there, looking to all the world like somebody had fed drugs to a plant and it rotted pink. Just as Sam started to relax, thinking that it had probably died, the thing started to_ change_.

Its body grew like air was being blow into it, the clumsily-carved features becoming menacing and sadistic. Twiggy arms and legs sprouted from its body that ended in sharp pink claws, dirt being dug up as it clenched its fingers and toes. The previously mushy pink skin turned hard as rock and started to grow prickly little hairs all along it. The entire time it continued to grow, until it was easily the size of a one story house. It got to its feet, flexed its claws, and roared into the sky.

And then it set its sights on Sam.

Claws swiped through the air, cutting cleanly through the tree her back was braced against, and Pumpkinstein let out a triumphant screech.

And then it realized that Sam wasn't a bloody corpse at its feet.

There were a few things that Sam wanted on her tombstone; killed by pumpkin wasn't one of them. So, while the thing had been mutating (_told you, Blaire!_) she hadn't waited around to be slashed open. So, pulling the old belly flop, she had thrown herself as far from Pumpkinstein as possible, rolled to her feet, and bolted.

The sound of it crashing through the trees hit Sam and she stumbled, turning briefly to check, and almost immediately sprinted faster. _I won't die this way. No way in hell! I didn't last this long just to be taken out by a vegetable! _The forest blurred around her but she didn't stop, barely avoiding trees as she turned corners and bouncing off the ones she couldn't evade. The whole time the Great Pumpkin shrieked and stomped behind her, so close that she could feel the tremors it made from its weight. Her body was bruising, legs sore and quickly going numb, her breathing heavy and laboured, but she pushed faster, determined to get away, to not let anything—be it monster or desert—stop her.

It wasn't either, actually; she tripped over a rock.

If the belly flop hurt than going at her fastest and landing on her face was hospital worthy. Sharp pebbles cut into her cheeks and blood dripped from the wounds, dirt sticking to her blood. The heady scent hit her but she ignored it. Sam scrambled to her hands and knees, but as she tried to get up, she suddenly found herself airborne.

The world slowed down and spun around her. it was like she was watching everything in slow motion. Her hair blew gently against her face and a soft wind rattled the few dried leaves on the trees. The Great Pumpkin watched her, its arm raised.

_Oh, so that's why I'm flying_, she thought absently.

Just as suddenly as she was flying she crashed back to earth. Her back struck something hard and blood fell from her mouth, the crimson liquid staining her mouth and chin red. Like a sack of potatoes her body slumped to the ground, where she lay, the pain making everything go fuzzy. Dimly she could see the Great Pumpkin advance on her, its claws high above its head, and Sam closed her eyes in defeat.

_Well, looks like its over. At least I put up a good chase. Probably helped it burn some calories to save room for me._ She would have laughed at the morbid irony but her body hurt too much to laugh. So instead, she made due with just snickering in her head. Darkness had just started to engulf her before she saw a flash of light behind the Great Pumpkin—the reflection off a blade. Hope rose in her chest and Sam's last thought was _Soul_ before she was pulled into peaceful oblivion.

* * *

"YOU MEAN I CAME ALL THIS WAY FOR NOTHING? I COULD HAVE FOUND HER BY NOW!"

People in the buildings beside one particular house froze and shuddered at the pure rage in the shout. Well, more like a bellow. Can you guess who the bellow belonged to?

Soul fumed in the middle of the room. His blood-red eyes were alight with fury an repreased rage as he glared at one of his best friends. Black*Star sat across from him, stretched out on his sofa as if an angry demon scythe yelling at him in his room was an average occurance. A confident smirk adorned his face as he lounged carelessly on the couch. He was the picture of utter narcissism. Black*Star was going to get himself killed that way. Anybody with a brain could see that at the moment Soul wasn't to be played with. That excluded Black*star, apparently.

The assassin watch Soul breathe heavily from his comfy position, and said, "I understand why you would come to me. People are just drawn by my greatness. The witch surely would have come here. She must have gotten lost on the way. Wait a bit and I'm sure that she'll be here soon, following the light that is me."

Any other day Soul might have thought his friend's cockiness hilarious. But this wasn't any other day. This was the day that he lost a dangerous witch who was possibly emotionally unstable and lost in Death City. Forgive him for not seeing the humour.

Soul growled and clenched his fists by his side to keep from slicing Black*Star open out of annoyance. _I don't have time for this! I need to find Sam before she hurts anyone—or herself._ Shaking that thought and all the mental pictures it brought up from his head, he turned back to Black*Star, trying to turn his glare to a scowl. It came out more of a sneer than anything.

"Well, do you have any clue where she might have gotten lost?" he all but roared. He had to remember that even if she wasn't with him, Black*Star could be useful.

A look of concentration crossed Black*Star's face. The room fell silent as Soul held his breath, hoping, _praying_, that he knew where she was. A smile slowly spread across the assassin's face and he took a breath, opened his mouth, and said, "Nope."

A ruckus erupted in the house and onlookers on the street hurried by, ushering small children away and covering their ears. A few moms who weren't quick enough were asked, "Mommy, what does that word mean?" Those women glared at the house, still jogging away, muttering, "A bad word."

Some minutes later, Soul walked out of the house and shoved his hands into his pockets, spitting out random words like "...idiot..." and "...useless..." as he walked away.

He still had a witch to find.

* * *

"Black*Star, I'm home!" Tsubaki called as she entered the house. _I wonder where Soul is. I haven't seen him since yesterday. He didn't even come by his apartment all night..._ "I'm sorry I only just got back. What do you want for dinner?" When no answer came at her question she started to get worried. _Did he get arrested again? No, I would have heard about it or seen the destruction. Where is he?_ "Black*Star, that's not funny. Answer me if you're he—"

Her words were cut off when she got into the living room and found her meister laying in the middle of the floor, bruised and battered, bleeding slightly. The room itself was a mess. Furniture was overturned and stuffing was scattered all along the rooms. The cushions had been ripped open. Tsubaki leaned closer and inspected it. No, it wasn't ripped; it was cut.

She barely suppressed the urge to groan.

Well, at least she knew where Soul had been.

**Sorry to all Black*Star fans but he will get hidden depths in chaps to come, so don't get out the torches and pich forks just yet. Okay? Good. Now click the little button at the bottom of the page and we can all live happily ever after...well, hurry up!**


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